- I’m Resigning.
Yoon Kihyun’s mourning for his father ended on the first day of the funeral.
Wasn’t this the same father who had run away from home when Kihyun was young, neglected him, then suddenly showed up a few years ago claiming to be ill and forcing him to provide support? Honestly, he thought he’d done enough.
Unlike his father who had disappeared as a handful of ash, Yoon Kihyun had to keep on living. Even if all that remained for him was terrible debt.
Thinking about the loan debt he’d recklessly increased to cover hospital bills and the tedious administrative procedures made it hard to breathe.
No matter how much Guides were classified as a special occupation category with high income, there were limits to what an individual could handle. Still, he believed he’d manage somehow, just as he had been getting by until now.
But before long, Yoon Kihyun realized he too had reached his limit. It came somewhat earlier than he’d expected and in a form he hadn’t wanted.
“It’s called Restricted Awakened Body Abnormality Syndrome. It’s a type that rarely develops among Guides. The problem is that it’s a disease not covered by insurance, so the treatment costs are somewhat……”
It was a rather absurd ending.
He’d been visiting the hospital for a few months now because there wasn’t a part of his body that didn’t hurt, and the doctor suddenly brought up some rare incurable disease.
‘No wonder it hurt like fucking hell in such a weird way.’
Yoon Kihyun sat there blankly, half-listening to the serious story the doctor was rattling off. The treatment costs were absurdly expensive. Because it was a disease not covered by health insurance.
Since he had no money, there was no point in listening to the explanation—in one ear and out the other.
Even in the taxi on the way back to the Center, it didn’t quite feel real.
Even though they said he’d die from complications if left untreated, instead of feeling a sense of crisis, he could only laugh. They say when something’s absurd, you laugh—and this was exactly that.
‘Ah, fuck it. How much harder do they want me to work? I don’t know anymore either. Whether it goes to shit or not……’
As he laughed endlessly in the back seat like someone who’d lost their mind, the taxi driver waved his hands frantically as soon as they arrived in front of the Center, saying the fare was fine. Whether it was pity or what, he didn’t know, but he was glad to save the taxi fare.
When Yoon Kihyun bowed his head to the taxi driver and returned to the Center, the list of Espers waiting for his Guiding was already stretched out long.
Normally he would have gone straight to the Guiding room, but today was different. After checking the Guiding list, Yoon Kihyun headed to the break room.
Leisurely brewing a capsule coffee and sitting at his seat with the team leader nameplate, he rummaged through the resignation form with a blank face.
After entering “personal reasons” in the reason section and submitting the approval request, it wasn’t long before the messenger app rang noisily.
Awakened Management Center/Headquarters/Guide Headquarters Director – Kim Sichan Kihyun?
Awakened Management Center/Headquarters/Guide Management Deputy Director – Jo Misung Team Leader Yoon, I think you submitted the wrong approval?
Yoon Kihyun glanced at the messages and got up from his seat. It was too bothersome to respond to each one.
He could deal with the question bombardment later. If he wanted to secure even a bit more of the incentive that would be included in this month’s salary, the backlogged Guiding came first.
Even if he was going to die, he should at least blow through his salary before dying, shouldn’t he?
‘Ugh, so fucking sick of this. Fucking Guiding, goddammit, seriously.’
It felt like bile was rising from his stomach. But thinking that this shit would last a month at most made him feel a little better.
He walked down the corridor as if dragging his sluggish body with difficulty, grinning.
“Oh, Team Leader Yoon. Did something good happen?”
Something good, my ass. He was coming back from hearing that he had a mountain of loan debt to repay and had contracted a disease that required disgustingly expensive medicine and injections to survive.
In truth, he was at a loss for how to deal with the disaster-like situation that had suddenly barged in front of him.
But at least right now, he didn’t want to think about anything. His energy to think had been depleted long ago.
‘Well, worst case scenario, I can just die, can’t I?’
Yoon Kihyun smiled thinly and replied to the Center employee whose name he could barely remember.
“No. I just felt like smiling.”
“Ah, yes.”
The employee moved away with a puzzled expression, gradually increasing the distance. There would probably be gossip going around that Yoon Kihyun was creepily grinning in the hallway.
But so what? Who cares what the bastards who’d be strangers in a month say?
Yoon Kihyun truly didn’t care.
Standing blankly in front of the Guiding room with his hand on the doorknob, he was still smiling crookedly.
For someone who had decided to commit suicide, his face looked excessively bright.
***
The Awakened Management Center’s public property. This was the derogatory nickname attached to Guide Team 2’s Team Leader Yoon Kihyun, who would Guide anyone as long as the timing worked out.
Espers who use various abilities inevitably experience side effects, big and small, arising from situations where wave suppression becomes impossible. The beings who help suppress Espers’ waves at such times are Guides.
Direct contact was essential to suppress another person’s waves, but most could Guide with just simple contact like a handshake.
However, there were occasionally cases where an Esper’s waves couldn’t be suppressed with contact Guiding alone.
In such cases, the Guide had to bring in the Esper’s waves more strongly through mucous membranes to take the lead, but mucous membrane Guiding, nice as it sounded, was no different from kissing.
When Espers couldn’t control their reason, it frequently led to acts tantamount to sexual intercourse, so Guides all avoided mucous membrane Guiding. Even though it came with quite a large incentive.
At the Awakened Center headquarters, Yoon Kihyun usually stepped up in such cases.
He wasn’t in a position to be picky if he wanted to pay off his loans quickly, and it was also possible because Yoon Kihyun originally didn’t mind sexual relations with men.
As a result, Yoon Kihyun became the target of low-quality sexual harassment spouted by Espers.
News of Yoon Kihyun’s resignation spread much faster than the person himself hoped. He was, after all, a person of interest among the Awakened Management Center members in both good and bad senses.
“The public property submitted a resignation.”
“Why?”
“Don’t know. Apparently he’s been ignoring multiple requests from above for meetings.”
“Didn’t he catch some rich person?”
“Then shouldn’t we get a fuck ton of Guiding before he leaves?”
“There aren’t many decent-looking ones besides the public property, damn.”
It took only one hour for news of Yoon Kihyun’s resignation to reach the break room where Espers had gathered in small groups.
“But why is he leaving?”
“He does Guiding left and right, so his salary must be insane.”
“His Guiding has seemed kind of half-assed lately too…… Is there really something going on?”
Just as the gossip was about to reach its peak, a small head suddenly popped up from behind the large sofa backrest.
“Who submitted a resignation?”
One of the Espers who confirmed the face of the person asking immediately straightened their posture.
‘Fuck, we’re screwed. The bastard who usually goes to the sleep room is here today for some reason.’
Should have giggled in the smoking room if I’d known this would happen.
While regretting and rolling their eyes, the man who had risen from the sofa frowned. It looked like his fist would fly out at any moment.
“I asked who submitted a resignation, you bastard.”
“Guide Team 2’s Team Leader, sir. From what I hear, he’s planning to resign immediately next month.”
At the disciplined answer, the man scratched the back of his head. There was only one Guide Team 2 Team Leader he knew.
“The public property?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Team Leader Yoon Kihyun submitted a resignation?”
“The rumor’s already spread everywhere. The Guide Headquarters Director apparently had his secretary buy a cake. To feed him during the meeting with the public property and try to appease him.”
“What the…… forget that shit. Don’t you know why he’s quitting?”
“I don’t really know that much either……”
“What the fuck do you know then?”
Esper Special Team 2’s Team Leader Jung Sijun, who had been berating the team member who disturbed his sleep, leaned against the sofa backrest and thought.
‘Yoon Kihyun is resigning?’
He was the only A-rank Guide with good compatibility with him.
He had almost been classified as a rampage risk group after overdoing it in the last large-scale rift, and in that process, he’d done mucous membrane Guiding with him for the first time.
After that day, Jung Sijun learned that he could sleep with men. From then on, Yoon Kihyun had started to subtly bother him.
And now he’s resigning. It wasn’t good news.
“I was sleeping well after so long. Why the hell are you babbling about things you don’t even know properly and waking people up, causing a scene?”
“I’m sorry.”
The team member scratched his head awkwardly. Jung Sijun, who had been glancing at him, checked his wristwatch.
He’d been assigned Guiding with Yoon Kihyun today anyway.
‘I can just ask him directly when I meet him.’
Jung Sijun left the break room while recalling which floor the Guiding room he’d reserved was on.
Befitting the nickname of the Center’s public property, Yoon Kihyun processed whatever Guiding was assigned to him and often did Guiding even outside work hours. Though lately for some reason he’d been leaving early sometimes.
‘Why is he suddenly quitting?’
He had no idea. Not that he’d been all that interested in Yoon Kihyun to begin with.
Jung Sijun, who had been waiting in the Guiding room with this question, asked as soon as he saw Yoon Kihyun arrive exactly on time.
“I heard rumors you’re quitting, is it true?”
Waiting for an answer, he quietly examined Yoon Kihyun’s face—it looked haggard. His eyes usually had no light in them, but today they were half-closed.
His complexion was also pale white, and no matter how he looked at it, his condition didn’t seem good at all.
‘Is he very sick somewhere?’
While Jung Sijun was thinking this, Yoon Kihyun slowly blinked and caught his breath.
‘The person asking if I’m quitting is already the third one? Fuck, how long has it been since I submitted my resignation and the rumor’s already spreading? How many more are left……’
It wasn’t a number that could be counted on one hand, at least.
The Esper with the next scheduled Guiding would probably ask the same question. Whether it’s true that he’s leaving the Center. Then he’d have to answer like this again.
‘Yes. It somehow turned out that way.’
Hiding the shabby fact that he got sick, while confirming the resignation fact. After all, it was true that he’d submitted a resignation.
When he’d responded like this to the two people whose Guiding he’d handled earlier, surprisingly, they both showed the same reaction as if rehearsed.
They attempted to exchange contact information and pressed him about the reason for quitting. He deflected the resignation reason as personal circumstances, declined the contact exchange as well, and only after blocking the conversation using Guiding as an excuse could he escape the barrage of questions.
He didn’t think Jung Sijun would ask different questions. Thinking about how many times he’d have to repeat this worthless Q&A made irritation rise from below.
Was that why? A sharper retort came out than when dealing with the previous two.
“If you already know, why bother asking?”
“I wanted to see if it was really true.”
“Yes.”
When he gave a short affirmation, lacking the energy for a long response, Jung Sijun tilted his head.
“Why?”
“Why what. Is it so strange that I’m quitting? People can quit when work becomes fucking shit. It’s not like I was born as equipment here from birth……”
Yoon Kihyun, who had been pouring out his true feelings without a filter, hastily cut off his words and dry-washed his face.
No matter how shitty things were, he had to work at the Center for a month for the handover. There was nothing to gain from losing it like this. It would only make the remaining month harder.
He exhaled deeply and apologized to Jung Sijun.
“Ah, I didn’t mean to take it out on you, Team Leader, but I kept getting asked the same thing and I got irritated…… I’m sorry. Let’s start the Guiding.”
When Yoon Kihyun’s apology ended, Jung Sijun couldn’t say anything in response and just silently held out his hand. He had a gut feeling that he shouldn’t poke any further.
At the obedient gesture of extending his hand, Yoon Kihyun felt both relieved and regretful.
‘Of all people, why did I take it out on him?’
He’d snapped in anger, but who was Jung Sijun? He had the nickname “Mad Dog of the Awakened Center” because he acted as he pleased as if social life was for the dogs.
Taking out his nerves on someone like that would only result in his own loss. At least it was fortunate that Jung Sijun didn’t say anything despite his irritable retort.
Yoon Kihyun grasped Jung Sijun’s scarred hand and immediately drew in his waves. Just in case Jung Sijun threw a fit belatedly, he was thinking of finishing the Guiding quickly.
As the waves came over through their touching palms, a tingling pain flowed through his entire body as if it had been waiting.
Seeing how things were flickering intermittently even before his eyes, the signs weren’t good. Yoon Kihyun tried hard to ignore the faint smell of blood he felt beyond his throat.
His physical condition was a mess, but while working at the Center, he wanted to focus on Guiding as much as possible. Even if to others he’d just look like the public property.
‘It’s my last paycheck, so I need to carefully collect all the incentives I can get.’
He needed money to die without regrets. He had to receive money he could spend lavishly before dying and then resign, so he wouldn’t have any regrets.
Who knew the desire to die would paradoxically make him live through today?
It was a bit funny, so Yoon Kihyun unconsciously pulled up the corners of his mouth.
Not knowing that Jung Sijun was watching him with a troubled expression as he suddenly started smiling.
