BCGWR Chapter 45 Part 1

I wondered if it was really okay, but looking at Jung Ha-jin’s face, my head nodded against my will, and such a thoughtless answer came out of my mouth.

Han Ji-su realized that he hadn’t thought and answered with his head, but had been so captivated by Jung Ha-jin’s face that he had almost been swept away into agreeing. He bit his lip.

And Jung Ha-jin, pretending not to know that Han Ji-su was still unsure, naturally poured water into a cup and said.

“Esper Kim Hyun-ah wants to place someone 100% trustworthy and capable by Guide Han Ji-su’s side.”

“…”

“As you know, I am fully capable of that.”

“…”

“And ultimately, Guide Han Ji-su also said that he doesn’t dislike me.”

“…”

“I will gladly be with Guide Han Ji-su. After all, I am a fan of Guide Han Ji-su.”

“…”

Han Ji-su, who had been looking at the cup filled a little over halfway with clear water, chewed on his words, and unwittingly let out a bitter laugh.

To be honest, he didn’t think Jung Ha-jin was his fan. It was probably a white lie intended to reassure his surprised heart.

No matter how much he thought about it, the reason Jung Ha-jin wanted to take care of him wasn’t 100% convincing, but at any rate, Jung Ha-jin wanted to be by his side during his break. And he himself needed help and didn’t dislike Jung Ha-jin. Considering only these facts, there was nothing to worry about.

This time, Han Ji-su didn’t answer by looking at Jung Ha-jin’s face, but nodded after a brief moment of thought and reaching his own conclusion. Confirming the positive response, Jung Ha-jin took Toto out of his pocket and placed him on the table.

Toto had been so quiet during their conversation that Han Ji-su thought he was asleep, but Toto, standing on Jung Ha-jin’s hand, stared at Han Ji-su with wide, bright eyes.

“Toto~ Did you sleep well?”

“Squeak-!”

“Oh, you slept well~ Shall we have some gruel with Daddy? You haven’t tried gruel before, have you? Want to try this?”

“…Squeak?”

When Han Ji-su picked up a spoon and showed Toto the gruel, Toto scurried closer, twitching his nose.

Then, for a moment, he frowned and backed away with a subtle expression, as if he intended to completely hide from the gruel, and began burrowing under Jung Ha-jin’s palm.

Jung Ha-jin slightly cupped his hand, creating a temporary hiding place for Toto.

“…As I said before, it’s strange, Toto doesn’t usually go to other men besides me like that.”

Jung Ha-jin, hearing Han Ji-su’s murmur, nodded, cupping his hand a little more roundly so Toto could hide comfortably.

“Yes. It seems Toto has also approved of me, so I look forward to working with you, Guide Han Ji-su.”

“…Yes. Esper Jung Ha-jin. I look forward to working with you too.”

Han Ji-su chuckled softly, feeling as if he had finally properly greeted Jung Ha-jin, and took a mouthful of the gruel. The gruel, made to soothe his stomach, had a very plain taste. To put it kindly, it was plain; to be honest…,

“…”

If he could, he would want to escape and hide under Jung Ha-jin’s hand just like Toto.

It seemed tonight’s dinner would be the only unappetizing dish Jung Ha-jin had ever made.

Han Ji-su, after finishing a bowl of gruel under Jung Ha-jin’s supervision, sat on the living room sofa and took a picture with Toto. It was a photo for a well-being post to upload on his personal SNS.

Since Toto had meticulously hidden his phone somewhere, both taking the photo and uploading it were done using Jung Ha-jin’s phone.

Han Ji-su, who had installed Instagram for the first time on Jung Ha-jin’s phone (which didn’t use social media) and even logged in, somehow felt like he had left a blemish on Jung Ha-jin’s pristine phone.

Feeling a little sorry, he tried to write the post himself, but Jung Ha-jin said he already had the photo and content to upload from the Peace Guild’s press response team, and uploaded it for him. Though, for someone who supposedly received the content, he seemed to be typing it out himself.

‘Hmm… it seems the media is really tearing into me…’

Han Ji-su concluded that this was the reason Jung Ha-jin and Toto didn’t want to give him his phone.

It was clear that some noisy stories had emerged during his Mental Stabilization Treatment, or the media was relentlessly attacking the name Han Ji-su until it turned to dust. Otherwise, there was no reason for those two to suddenly act like that.

Such instances had often occurred even during his idol activities.

Sometimes, when issues arose with the company or group, the older members would, worried that the youngest, who had the delicate mentality of an ocean sunfish, might be hurt by some fan reactions, hide his phone.

Then, all day long, they would feed him delicious food, and once he digested it, they would exhaust Han Ji-su with intense dance practice, scrub him clean with hot water, and put him to sleep as if knocking him out.

Han Ji-su, who had briefly recalled fond memories, returned to reality and began to infer the current situation. The news of his hospitalization had probably spread, and as a result, the opinions of all sorts of worried reporters were undoubtedly pouring in.

Not to mention YouTube, there would probably be reactions wondering if the Peace Guild was paying too much attention to Han Ji-su, who was only a B-rank Guide.

‘I thought it would get better with time, but did it get worse?’

Even when he was holed up at home right after the Taejongdae incident, he sometimes checked his phone.

It wasn’t that he specifically read messages sent by others. Aside from diligently replying to his counselor’s messages that arrived at specific times daily, he only went into the chatroom with Kang Jae-yoon, scrolled up, and read their exchanged messages, and looked at photos he had taken with him.

When the alarm he set rang, he would feed Toto and then lie down and cry, when he became so hungry he couldn’t lift a finger, he would roughly eat a soy milk or an energy bar from dungeon rations, and cry, and when the alarm rang again, he would prepare Toto’s food and then collapse and cry, repeating the cycle.

Then, sometimes, when he missed Kang Jae-yoon so profoundly that it was unbearable, even in his irrational state, he would send messages to Kang Jae-yoon. Naturally, a ‘1’ indicating that the message hadn’t been read was next to all the messages he sent.