STJ_19

"Mom..."

Little Iijun hugged Cha Yoonhee's arm like a spoiled puppy and rubbed the bridge of his nose on her shoulder.

On the other hand, Yoonhee was glued to the latest news on the TV screen, as if she was about to get caught up in it. She had no time to pay attention to her six-year-old son.

"Mom... Mommy..."

The whining Iijun followed her gaze and looked at the TV.

On the screen, his father was standing shirtless in front of the evil Creatures that plagued the princesses and princes he usually only saw in children's books. 

Iijun's eyes returned to his mother. Yoonhe stared at the back of Geonho who was shooting flames on the live screen without blinking.

"Mommy... Iijun's stomach hurts..."

"......"

"Mom..."

Yoonhee let go of her son who was clinging to her thin arm as if she was trying to shoo away a bug stuck to her sleeve. Then she focused on the news screen again and bit her nails restlessly.

After defeating the Creatures, her husband's destination was not the home of his wife and children, but somewhere else.

He will go to someone else. To receive guiding.

"Mommy... There seems to be a small stone here. It seems Iijun swallowed a stone while eating earlier."

"Haa... It's not a stone, Iijun. Be quiet."

Iijun cried while holding his solar plexus and pretending to cough.

"It won't come out... it's stuck..."

"Haa... Iijun, please be quiet."

Often, an adult's sigh sounded more frightening than thunder to a child.

Yoonhee rose from her seat with a long sigh. Iijun, who was panting until his face was red, watched her silently.

Yoonhee gave Iijun an annoyed look and immediately picked up the phone to call her personal doctor. After several examinations and even X-rays, no stones were found.

“His stomach is fine. I think..."

The doctor said carefully that it was most likely a psychological reaction. Then he whispered so as not to be heard by Iijun who was standing next to him.

Yoonhee combed her long hair nervously.

"Psychological reaction? That means... he pretends to be sick?"

"Madam, you don't have to look at it that way..."

"Haa... even if you didn't do it, you made a lot of noise here."

Yoonhee's look at Iijun became a little colder.

"Sa Iijun. Mom has it hard enough without you. Don't act stupid."

"....yes."

"Go to your room. It'll be over when your father comes."

Iijun, who returned to the room, clenched his small fist and patted the area around his chest.

The stone in Iijun's solar plexus was still there, growing larger and sharper.

***

"Sa Iijun-ssi, are you all right? Esper Sa Iijun!"

"Haa... haa..."

Iijun looked half-conscious.

As if sensing something, Doyoung unwrapped the towel that was wrapped around Iijun's hand.

The hand he was holding carefully was drenched in cold sweat, as cold as the dead. When he took a closer look, he saw that his fingertips were messed up from probably being bitten by him all the time, and Doyoung sighed.

"I think I'm just pretending... Or is it like a stomach cramp?"

A moan that seemed to be in pain came from Iijun's throat. Doyoung's face turned serious.

"That's not good. I'll call a doctor."

As Doyoung let go of Iijun's hand and started to rush out, his wrist was suddenly grabbed tightly. Iijun looked down to hide his face and shook his head.

"No... Don't go.”

This time it was Doyoung who shook his head.

"Sa Iijun-ssi, the matching test is not the problem. We can do it later, so go to the doctor and get checked out first."

"I don't want to..."

"Now is not the time to refuse. Hurry up and get checked..."

"But you'll be holding someone else's hand again!"

Doyoung's face hardened, his mouth half open. I fell silent.

"....huh?"

"If I leave now... You'll take the test with someone else. You'll be holding someone else's hand."

"......"

Doyoung looked down at Sa Iijun's bowed head on the test chair. It seemed that Sa Iijun didn't have the courage to look at Doyoung, he continued to speak in a whispered voice while lowering his head. 

"Don't hold others' hands.”

“......”

"Just hold my hand."

Although Doyoung found it annoying and childish, he could not just push Sa Iijun's hand away.

Sa Iijun's large hand, unbecoming for his age, which wrapped around Doyoung's wrist several times, trembled a little. Doyoung couldn't bear to ignore this desperate hand.

"How can you not want to get yourself checked out... your hands are cold as ice."

Doyoung lifted Sa Iijun's chin with his other hand, which Sa Iijun was not holding, and looked at his face. Sa Iijun's forehead was wet with cold sweat and his front hair was pushed aside, revealing his pale young face.

"Your face is pale too, why are you sweating so much? Wait a moment. I'll call the medical staff outside..."

Sa Iijun grabbed Doyoung's hand as he tried to move away and hugged him tightly. Sa Iijun's face was buried in Doyoung's chest. Doyoung sighed as he looked at Sa Iijun's brown hair that was close to his chest.

This sudden contact was more like the childish act of a child who wants to avoid injections and hides in his parents' arms, rather than a sensual act.

“Esper Sa Iijun.”

Hearing Doyoung's soft voice, Iijun shook his head with his face still buried in Doyoung's shirt. The bridge of his high nose tickled Doyoung's chest through the fabric.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to go out and call the doctor."

Though there was no reply, the grip of the arm around his waist tightened. Doyoung finally gave up in the face of this whale tendon-like stubbornness and let out a short breath.

"Okay. I'm not going anywhere, so give me your hand."

Doyoung took Iijun's hand, which was big and thick and seemed to be twice as long as his own, with both hands. Compared to Sa Kangjun's beautiful hand, this hand was somewhat rougher, with many scars, and the joints were thick and protruding.

Doyoung's fingertips pressed against Iijun's hand with his thumb and index finger.

“Ugh...!”

He didn't think it would be so bad that Sa Iijun's whole body seemed to be throbbing as if he had hit him hard even though he didn't use much force. Even when he was put in the experimental chair and hit with electricity, it didn't look like that.

"Did it hurt? Like something was stuck inside? No matter how I look at it, I think saying that is all an act is really..."

"......"

Without saying a word, Iijun looked at Doyoung with eyes that looked like they wanted to cry.

"Bear the pain a little."

Often, when his stomach was uncomfortable, his grandmother would take Doyoung's hand and give him acupressure like that.

Doyoung, who lost his father at a young age, was raised by his mother and grandmother. He spent most of his time at his grandmother's house, especially during the holidays.

When he stayed with his grandma, who gave him a delicious breakfast and rice cakes for snacks, fruit to satisfy his appetite, and bread and cookies to eat, his stomach often felt uncomfortable.

His grandma would lift the tip of his finger and press it, threatening to keep quiet if he didn't want his hand removed, but it hurt so much that Doyoung would forget for a moment that his stomach was hurting.

“Ugh!”

Sa Iijun felt the same. Doyoung used his fingertips and nails to mercilessly press the acupuncture point between his thumb and index finger, causing Sa Iijun to scream in pain and thrash around.

Doyoung unconsciously mimicked what his grandma used to say.

"Oho, shut up... or I'll kill you."

The massage continued until some blood came back to Iijun's lips.

"Guide-nim...?"

Just then, a staff member, who had been worried about the delay of the test, opened the door and entered. He didn't seem to have the courage to call Sa Iijun, so he spoke carefully to Doyoung.

"Can you speed up the test preparation? The commander and the director of the research institute are here now..."

The fact that the unprecedented head of the research institute was here meant that all the important figures of the UEFC were here. Since the results with Sa Kangjun were unusual, they were curious about the results with his younger brother, Sa Iijun.

However, none of them cared about Sa Iijun's current physical condition.

Doyoung felt his anger rising.

"I'm sorry, but tests are not the issue right now. What kind of test is it when someone is sick..."

"Sick? Guide-nim, are you sick?"

"It's not me, it's Esper Sa Iijun. His hands were cold and he was sweating profusely. He feels claustrophobic and has difficulty breathing. Can you contact the medical staff?"

Iijun stared blankly at Doyoung as he spoke to the staff. Doyoung's face was etched in his light brown eyes.

"I think this is an emergency."

"Emergency?"

The staff asked back in a confused tone. As if Esper couldn't possibly get sick over such a small thing. Or maybe he thought it was no big deal. Doyoung's brow furrowed even more.

"Why, is Esper not human?"

"No, that's not what I meant… I Understand. I'll contact the medical department.”

Just as the staff was about to turn around after hearing Doyoung's stern words and expression, Iijun's voice came from behind.

"I'll do it, the test."

Iijun raised his head and smiled bitterly, as if he was used to such things. Then he grabbed Doyoung's wrist again.

"Now... it seems to be okay."

Indeed, everything seemed to be better. The trembling in his hand had stopped and the feeling of shortness of breath in his chest had disappeared.

Sa Iijun thought. It seemed that Doyoung had removed the stone from his stomach.

He was sure that Doyoung was God's gift to him.

–

TL: Muji

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