BCGWR Chapter 48 Part 1

047. Side Effect 4

The space where his dream had vanished was filled by Han Ji-su’s room window. He blinked, and outside the large window, a dark sky was visible. Whether it was already raining or about to pour, grey clouds completely covered the sky.

“……It’s gloomy.”

Perhaps because of the sky, his body also felt heavy. Everything was bothersome. He didn’t want to do anything. For now, he just wanted to fall back asleep and continue his dream.

If he hadn’t heard Toto’s lecturing sounds through the slightly open door crack, he might have pretended not to notice and tried to fall back asleep.

“Toto. You keep throwing only carrots, stop and put it down here.”

“Squeak!”

“I’ll mince it finely and cook it so it has no taste, so give it to me.”

“Squeak!”

Just as Ji-su thought he should stop Toto and was about to get up, he heard a rustling plastic sound, followed by Jung Ha-jin’s calm voice.

“If you want new carrots, there are plenty here.”

“Squeak, squeak…!!”

At Toto’s indignant cries, Ji-su got up. He felt he needed to quickly comfort his companion monster.

As Han Ji-su stumbled out of his room, Toto, with a mouth full of carrots, raised one paw in greeting.

“Squeak!”

“Toto, did you sleep well? Jung Ha-jin Esper, did you sleep well?”

At the question, Jung Ha-jin looked at Ji-su for a moment, then nodded and answered in a low, soft voice.

“Yes. I slept soundly. Han Ji-su Guide, did you sleep soundly?”

“Yes, I think I slept pretty well. This medicine doesn’t seem to control dreams, as I even had a dream from a long time ago.”

“Is that so…? If your dreams weren’t pleasant, it’s possible to switch to medicine that prevents dreams.”

“Oh, no! It wasn’t a bad dream. On the contrary, it was a good dream. So much so that I was sad it was too short.”

Answering that way, Ji-su, who habitually gave a small laugh, approached Jung Ha-jin’s side.

He was mincing all sorts of vegetables, seemingly to add them to porridge. Ji-su realized it was time to reveal the truth so that Jung Ha-jin wouldn’t go to unnecessary trouble in the future, and carefully began to speak.

“Um… Jung Ha-jin Esper.”

“Yes.”

“Oh… thank you so much for cooking. But… Toto keeps bothering you with carrots, doesn’t he?”

“It’s not quite at the level of bothering.”

“Oh, is that so? Uh, well… but… the reason Toto does that is actually because of me.”

“……”

“I don’t like carrots. That’s why Toto keeps doing that. So, you don’t have to add carrots anymore…”

“Didn’t you say you eat carrots that have been cooked so they don’t have their characteristic smell?”

“……? Did I even say that?”

As a flustered Ji-su instinctively asked back immediately, Jung Ha-jin tilted his head slightly and spoke.

“During the Loveis Youtuber self-produced content when you went on the Japan tour, you said that in a curry shop during your free time, so I thought cooked carrots were fine. Are they not?”

“……”

At Jung Ha-jin’s unhesitating reply, not only Ji-su but even Toto gaped. Ji-su, standing dumbfounded in embarrassment, only nodded after seeing the orange carrots visible between Toto’s open mouth across from him.

“……Th-that’s right. If there’s no smell, I do eat them… But still, how do you know all of that?”

“Because I’m a fan.”

“……Ah…”

Who says they’re a fan in such a firm and serious tone?

Ji-su still found it hard to believe he was his fan, but figuring there must be some reason for his actions, he brushed it off and pulled out a dining chair to sit.

Seeing Ji-su’s lukewarm reaction, Jung Ha-jin slightly narrowed his eyes and tilted his head as if asking if there was a problem. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but that expression, combined with his face when he just said he was a fan, felt a little brazen.

‘Well, whatever… as long as there’s no carrot smell, it’s fine, I guess…’

In any case, since Jung Ha-jin was cooking, he intended to eat the meal he prepared without complaint.

The only reason he bothered to mention the carrots was to prevent friction with Toto every time; he could eat them as long as he didn’t taste their characteristic smell. Of course, it would be even better if he didn’t have to eat them at all.

Ji-su rested his chin on the table and stared idly at Jung Ha-jin’s back as he concentrated on cooking again. He wondered if Jung Ha-jin had exercised again at dawn, because his shirt, strained by his powerfully developed upper body muscles that looked ready to burst, made him feel strange.

It felt a little strange that such a man had watched all of Loveis’s old self-produced content and remembered even the minutest details of the episodes. Of course, before The Cataclysm, Loveis, as a top idol group, had many fans. So, it wouldn’t be strange for Jung Ha-jin to be a fan, but why…?

‘Rather than knowing it as a fan, it feels more like he diligently studied it through rote memorization?’

Of course, he was just suspecting without any evidence or basis. Nevertheless, his attitude towards him was always cautious and careful.

And thinking about it, whether he was his fan or not wasn’t really an important issue. Ji-su, concluding that it would actually be a good thing for him if it was just someone being kind to him without any ulterior motives, recalled Jung Ha-jin from yesterday.

The moment when Jung Ha-jin, who was always composed, instinctively tried to take his Guiding and was startled.

“……Jung Ha-jin Esper.”

“Yes.”

“Am I still Radiating Guiding now?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… I still don’t know. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to control this, but could I try an experiment?”

“Yes. Could you wait a moment?”

“Yes~.”

Jung Ha-jin, after pouring all the minced vegetables into the pot and adjusting the heat, washed his hands. First, he put Toto on the table, then pulled out the chair opposite Ji-su, sat down, and extended his hand.

Toto stared with narrowed eyes, but Jung Ha-jin subtly pretended not to notice the intense gaze and only looked at his own hand.

Ji-su carefully held Jung Ha-jin’s hand, which had many small scars, in both of his. It was a rough hand. Both his palm and the back of his hand had countless scars.