Dulce Periculum

29. We Die Every Day

"Do you want me to carry that for you?" Mingi asked as he held the entrance door open for Yunho. When the esper followed his gaze, he noticed the big sports bag slung over his shoulder. Mingi lifted a hand to take it from him after his elongated stay in the sick ward, but Yunho shook his head.

"Thank you, I got it."

They made their way outside into the evening to catch the last rays of the sun blushing across the skies. Yunho inhaled the fresh air, relishing the nature around Tenebra's HQ and Seoul nestled before them. A jog would be nice, but Yeosang told him to take it slow for now. Perhaps a stroll was ideal.

Mingi buried his hands in his suit pants and pondered the sky as they walked down the hill and along the fields. They were so mismatched, in rank and hierarchy, even in looks, but Yunho was fond of their relationship. He and Mingi were a lot, none of which was fixed, but they got along. When Yunho joined Tenebra, he didn't expect to have such a good relationship with his boss.

And even when Mingi was a big mystery to him and they barely knew each other's personalities, Yunho knew Mingi kept an eye out for him.

Shy, Yunho touched his glasses, out of habit more than need now that his new ones weren't slipping.

Blind towards his internal monologue, Mingi hung in his own thoughts.

"We might not find answers on your condition, no matter how many tests Yeosang runs, until we have more encounters with similar demons. I already spoke to San about this. He promised to bring back samples for Yeosang to study. We aren't sure what a demon might want in a human's mind, but be it to lead you into its maw one day, or just to taunt you, we will get rid of it," he shared and Yunho was glad for his bag since he could play with its zipper to distract the dread consuming his mind. First, he was terrified of his powers. Now that he barely mastered them, a new terror ate at him, possibly in the most literal sense.

Life as an esper never got boring, it seemed.

"I would like you to train a lot with Jongho. The high volume of rifts persists and we must close them to stop calamity from dawning on us. But I am well aware of your condition and will keep a special eye on you."

Yunho nervously peered over at him. Mingi's face was dark with determination, but it wasn't scary towards Yunho.

He already made so many exceptions to accommodate Yunho. Because he was the newest recruit? Or because Mingi had sympathy for his issues?

Though grateful, the more favours he earned, the more pressure burdened Yunho's shoulders. Could he ever repay all that help? By just fighting with them alone?

He didn't want to be a liability when Mingi had so many other things to take care of. Picking Yunho up in the first place already showed a lot of kindness.

"Thank you for taking care of me," he muttered instead, and Mingi sent him a grin. He didn't expect special gratitude or explanations. As part of Tenebra, Yunho was everyone's concern.

How odd his journey here had been.

"Also, because of what happened between us... I'm sorry. If it has to happen again, I hope we can find a way you won't despise," Mingi added, to change the topic from the darkness looming in their future to beckon at them with greedy fingers.

One day, they would catch up with it. But for now, Yunho was fine.

Brushing the insecurities off for later, Yunho tilted his head. His boss was distracted by a small white dog on the other side of the street and, though he seemed so detached from the human world occasionally, it was nice to see the tattooed bad boy smile about a puppy.