He thought he’d just fallen asleep. But at the urgent voice calling him, Ilkyung had no choice but to get up.
“I think you need to go to work a bit early today.”
“What time is it now?”
“6:30.”
It was 30 minutes earlier than his usual wake-up time. Ilkyung still hadn’t fully come to his senses, so he just sat and repeatedly took deep breaths in and out, trying to come to his senses. After repeating it several times, the words that he needed to go to work quickly were finally registered in his head.
“But why?”
“There was another incident at dawn.”
“Incident? What incident?”
He’d been with Director Ha until 11 o’clock yesterday and nothing had happened.
“An explosion incident.”
“Explosion incident? Where?”
“This time on the highway.”
“What highway? Tell me in detail.”
“I’ll tell you on the way. Hurry.”
Ilkyung quickly got up and started washing. He didn’t even have time to fill his hungry stomach. Ilkyung got in next to his noona’s car. Whether it was fortunate or not, Ilkyung’s car was at the Center. Since yesterday’s appointment with Director Ha wasn’t originally planned, they’d left Ilkyung’s car and moved in Daehoon’s car.
“Drink this first.”
Minkyung held out arrowroot juice to Ilkyung. Ilkyung shuddered.
“Did Mom give it to you?”
“It was in the fridge.”
“Ah, no!”
Like a child throwing a tantrum about food, Ilkyung shook his head in disgust. Was it because she’s an Esper? Even though she’s an A-rank with such excellent abilities, she takes damn good care of her body.
“You need to eat health foods well from a young age. The unnies say losing stamina happens in an instant.”
“That’s what an ability user would say. Never mind, I’ll buy coffee at the Center and drink it. Hurry and tell me about the incident.”
Ilkyung grumbled asking who drinks arrowroot juice like an old person and urged his noona to tell him about the incident.
“There was an explosion accident on the highway at 5:30. We’ll have to investigate more when we get there, but it seems intentional. At first they thought it was an explosion from a collision.”
“But?”
“It doesn’t seem like that. I think we need to go see more.”
“Then are we going to that highway now?”
He thought they were going to work at the Center, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Then there was no need to ride in noona’s car.
“Then why are you taking me along? I need to go to the Center.”
“Ah, right? Then I’ll drop you off midway.”
Ilkyung sighed, “Aigo.” His noona had this habit of not thinking ahead and only fixating on work whenever an incident happened. Ilkyung, who had forgotten that, could only sigh thinking who else could he blame but himself?
“Ah, what? I have to take the bus at this crack of dawn.”
Normally Woo Ilkyung would have told his noona to take responsibility and drop him off at the Center before going, but right now was an urgent situation, so it was time for Ilkyung to yield.
“Ah, sorry sorry.”
A bus stop appeared ahead. Minkyung let Ilkyung off and waved her hand. Ilkyung looked at his noona with a still dissatisfied expression and reluctantly waved his hand. Then he plopped down on the stop bench.
“Ah, what is this?”
Ilkyung picked up his phone and started searching for buses. But that’s when it happened.
“Assistant Manager Woo.”
“Huh? Director!”
Good heavens, how could Ha Daehoon be this welcome!
“Why are you sitting there at this crack of dawn? I almost thought you were someone else and passed by.”
Ha Daehoon at this time looked neat. He’d gone in later than him yesterday, and then his sleeping time would have been late too, but how could such a person be this fine? Ilkyung stared at Daehoon blankly, both envious and amazed.
“Is there something on my face?”
“Ah, no.”
“Did you eat breakfast?”
Ilkyung shook his head.
“You must be hungry. But why did you come out so early?”
“Noona woke me up.”
Daehoon glanced over while driving, wondering what Ilkyung meant. Now that Ilkyung thought about it again, it was absurd. Really, this damn noona!
“No, I was sleeping soundly and she woke me up saying there was an accident and to get up quickly. And then she said we had to go to work quickly, so I really gathered up all my wits and got ready and got in next to her. I naturally thought we were going to the Center. But she said she had to go to the accident scene. Wouldn’t I be dumbfounded?”
Ilkyung tattled to Daehoon about what his noona had done. To wake someone up at the crack of dawn and dump them in the middle of the road! While talking, Ilkyung stuck out his lips.
Daehoon silently listened to Ilkyung’s words. Occasionally he nodded and chimed in.
“But why are you going to work so early, Director?”
“I heard about the accident and I’m going.”
“Ah, are you taking the lead on this case too, Director?”
Ilkyung looked at Daehoon and asked. Daehoon replied while driving smoothly.
“Until the results of this incident come out. If it’s the same incident, I’ll take it, and if it’s a different incident, a different person in charge will take it.”
Ilkyung nodded.
“Oh! Then don’t you need to go to the highway scene too, Director?”
“What if I do?”
Daehoon answered nonchalantly. Ilkyung’s face froze in shock.
“Then why are you giving me a ride! I need to go to the Center!”
“It’s Assistant Manager Woo’s fault for getting in without even asking where we’re going.”
Daehoon answered while driving with an indifferent expression. Ilkyung gaped and stared at Daehoon with dumbfounded eyes.
Ah, is he really crazy? What are Woo Minkyung and Ha Daehoon doing from the crack of dawn? One shook a sleeping person awake trying to take them to the highway, and one picked up a person trying to go to work properly and is now trying to go to the highway… Goddammit, that damn highway!
Ilkyung closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. So this is what it feels like to have your blood pressure rise! He should have just left him at the bus stop, but what was he doing picking him up and causing this mess now!
That’s when it happened.
“Hahaha.”
You’re laughing? You’re laughing right now? You picked up someone going to work and kidnapped them to an unwanted place and now you’re laughing? Ilkyung trembled and stared at Daehoon.
“I’m joking. We’re going to the Center.”
“Wh-what?”
Woo Ilkyung trembled. He was already in poor condition from not sleeping properly, and now he’s playing jokes! Ilkyung was suddenly overcome with fatigue. Come to think of it, who was it because of that he couldn’t sleep yesterday!
“Did you not sleep well? You look tired.”
Ilkyung looked at Daehoon sullenly. It’s because of you, Director, that I couldn’t sleep! He couldn’t say this. It was better to refrain from unnecessary words. He didn’t know how far his loose mouth would run off to. Just a moment ago, as he talked, hadn’t he complained to Daehoon about his noona in great detail like a little kid tattling everything to the teacher? He couldn’t tell when they had become this kind of relationship. It had become like this without him even being conscious of it.
“I-I just couldn’t fall asleep.”
“That could have been the case. Since you fell asleep on the way here, Ilkyung-ssi.”
“That’s!”
“I’m not saying anything about it. Traffic was also backed up on the way, and I was the one who told you to sleep if you were tired.”
Ilkyung felt unnecessarily awkward and swallowed. That’s when it happened. Growl. Ilkyung clutched his stomach. Fuck, this is maddening. When Daehoon glanced over then didn’t say anything, Ilkyung felt even more embarrassed.
“No, I came out without even eating breakfast… Ah, my noona did give me something. S-so, my noona gave me arrowroot juice this morning.”
“Arrowroot juice?”
He didn’t know. Anyway, Ilkyung had already shown Daehoon every embarrassing sight, so there was nothing to hide. Drinking and sleeping at his house, calling him drunk at dawn, crying, kissing, and even masturbating with him as material…!
“Yes. Who drinks arrowroot juice like an old person? My family has something like that. Maybe because there are many Espers, there’s something about being very conscious of health. Actually, I don’t need that kind of thing…”
“Isn’t that just because it’s an atmosphere of being health-conscious? Ilkyung-ssi’s father is a Guide, not an Esper.”
At Daehoon’s words, Ilkyung stopped abruptly and stared at Daehoon intently.
“Why?”
“Hmm, no. Come to think of it, Dad is a Guide, right.”
Out of five family members, three were Espers, one was a Guide, and one was an ordinary person. As a result, Ilkyung also had a tendency to think of everything focused on Espers.
“Could that be it?”
Ilkyung muttered.
