C Company’s convenience store was a small convenience store where there was a rumor that “a mysterious energy can be felt.” It was said that quite a few ability users frequented that convenience store because of the energy that made them feel good.
Of course, Park Hanil didn’t take those words seriously.
Well, with a low probability, the manager of that place might be a guide whose abilities manifested late, but…
An S-rank guide is just a convenience store manager?
To Park Hanil, who valued honor, it was absurd.
Moreover, a guide who was S-rank wouldn’t be foolish enough to let their energy leak all over the convenience store.
Even if their abilities manifested late, since they were S-rank, wouldn’t they have contained that energy at once?
Even the A-rank guides affiliated with him or the Guide Center already controlled that energy well even before awakening as guides.
S-rank would definitely be even more special, so there was no way they would have done something foolish.
Neither of them feels right.
No matter how late their abilities manifested, neither of the two men felt like they had the specialness of an S-rank guide.
Park Hanil’s worries deepened.
He decided to further investigate the person among the men who held Gu Baekyoung’s hand who had a physique similar to the cat helmet.
But if he couldn’t get a lead through this investigation either…
He intended to make that guide come out into the world, even if he had to receive help from the Management Bureau Director.
***
While almost everything was being sorted out neatly, there was exactly one problem that hadn’t been resolved.
It was that the night shift part-timer had disappeared because Gu Baekyoung had become busy with diversionary tactics and dating rumors.
Onyul hastily posted a part-time job posting, and fortunately, he received contact quickly. It was contact so fast that it was strange, considering how the part-timer hadn’t been found easily the previous day.
Should he say it was as if someone had been waiting…
“…Is this voice phishing?”
It was understandable, since the content of the message that contacted him was quite bizarre.
[Boss, I want to work part-time! It has to be me××× You must hire me…! I don’t need an hourly wage $$$ I’m happy just working♥♡♥♡ Please give me work ooooh ㅠㅠ You can’t refuse!! I’ll keep waiting. Until you contact me♨☏☎]
He didn’t need an hourly wage and just wanted to work? And what were these strange emojis?
It was so very strange and suspicious.
He didn’t want to reply, but there was no contact from anyone else besides this person.
Why do I always end up like this whenever I look for a part-timer?
Onyul, lamenting his fate, had no choice but to contact the suspicious person.
[Are you available to visit today?]
As soon as he sent the message, a reply flew back.
[I’m coming now! Swoosh! It won’t take even a few seconds swoosh!]
“…”
He really seems like a crazy bastard.
Onyul stared at the glass door with an anxious gaze for some unknown reason.
Before long, a tall man opened the glass door and entered. He was a man who gave the impression of being handsome at first glance.
He was a handsome man with a slightly different feel from Gu Baekyoung, whose pale impression was attractive and whose decadent sensuality stood out.
To be precise, the man had a rather smooth impression. His curved eyes, and the dimples that appeared every time he smiled slightly.
The man with an attractive eye smile gently swept back his brown hair.
He had already approached in front of the register and was giving Onyul an eye smile.
“Hello.”
The clear voice that knocked at his ears was quite pleasant to hear. It was a different charm from Gu Baekyoung, whose low voice was attractive.
Could this handsome person be the suspicious part-timer?
Onyul asked as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Ah, are you the person who wants to work part-time?”
“Yes.”
No matter how he looked at it, his appearance didn’t suit a convenience store part-timer. The man looked like he would suit working in modeling or the entertainment industry much better than part-time work.
Could he be a media outlet that infiltrated to find out my identity?
“You don’t need to think it’s suspicious. I really applied because I want to work part-time.”
“…I can only give you minimum wage.”
“That’s fine.”
As if he’d read Onyul’s suspicion, the man tilted his head and whispered as if telling a secret.
“I actually grew up in a wealthy family. So I don’t know much about how the world works. I applied for a part-time job to study how the world operates before I inherit the family business.”
“…”
“Oh right, the family business is also related to convenience stores. If I work in the family business, I’ll definitely receive preferential treatment… so I applied to a completely unrelated place.”
Ah, is he the son of a large mart or department store owner or something?
Having said that, the man’s circumstances became very slightly, just a speck, understandable.
“Here’s my resume.”
Before Onyul could say anything, the man took out a resume he’d diligently prepared.
His name was Ji Sanghyeon, age twenty-seven… he wasn’t an esper as expected, and he was a promising talent who had graduated from a good university.
Even if he needed to study the world, was it right for someone with these specs to work a convenience store part-time job?
When Onyul tilted his head slightly, the man, Ji Sanghyeon, smiled brightly.
“Please don’t look at me too suspiciously. I really want to work at the convenience store.”
Even if the man had a suspicious purpose, Onyul desperately needed a night shift part-timer.
“I’ll hire you for now. But I’ll still keep watch.”
He had no choice but to hire him, but if he found someone else, he’d have to replace him.
Ji Sanghyeon, not knowing Onyul’s dark thoughts, shouted joyfully.
“Wow, thank you, Boss!”
“Not Boss, Manager.”
“Yes, Manager.”
“I’ll teach you the work from now on, so you need to remember it well.”
“Of course.”
The man with a cheeky smile extended his hand toward Onyul as if asking for a handshake.
“Please take care of me.”
“Yes…”
Onyul only grabbed the tips of Ji Sanghyeon’s fingers and quickly withdrew his hand.
At the appearance like a cat being extremely wary of the other party, Ji Sanghyeon burst out laughing, “Haha.”
“Manager, you’re really like a cat.”
“What?”
“You hear a lot that you resemble a cat, right?”
Cat. He was receiving attention as the cat helmet recently, though.
Onyul denied his words.
“I wonder. That’s the first time I’m hearing it.”
“Really? Then I guess I’m the only one who noticed the Manager’s true charm.”
Those words felt somehow odd. It sounded like he knew the identity of the cat helmet who helped Gu Baekyoung.
But Onyul dismissed that suspicion. The possibility of an ordinary man who wasn’t even an ability user knowing his identity was close to zero.
“Would you come over here? I’ll teach you how to use the POS system first.”
“Let’s do that.”
Befitting his high specs, Ji Sanghyeon learned how to use the POS system and other convenience store operation methods at once. It was unbelievable that this was his first convenience store part-time job.
“You could work right away without any problems, couldn’t you?”
Onyul was purely impressed.
“I have a lot of time, so please call me anytime. I’m unemployed right now.”
Ji Sanghyeon laughed, showing off his dimples. Perhaps because of that harmless smile, the suspicion toward him thinned. It was a feeling like he wanted to trust him and completely entrust the convenience store to him.
Well, I haven’t been able to rest enough.
The moment he fell into complacent thoughts, the phone placed on the register beeped.
The identity of the alarm was a disaster text.
[Seoul Metropolitan Government]
A large gate rampage occurred around Seoul XX Station at 18:42 today.
Nearby citizens, please evacuate immediately and refrain from approaching the scene.
Please refrain from unnecessary outings due to traffic congestion and concerns about secondary damage.
※In case of emergency, please report to 119 or the district office※
To think that a rampage happened again so soon after the one not long ago.
Had gate rampages originally occurred this frequently?
…No, that couldn’t be. Even thinking about when he lived as an esper, experiencing a gate rampage was extremely rare.
What came to Onyul’s mind then was the words Gu Baekyoung had left behind.
<Perhaps the gate rampage that hyung got caught up in might have also happened at someone’s instigation.>
Gu Baekyoung had suspected that the Anti-Management Bureau seemed to be artificially causing rampages.
If this rampage was also connected to the Anti-Management Bureau…
When he thought that far, warm fingertips touched his furrowed brow.
When he raised his gaze from looking down at the phone screen, his eyes met with Ji Sanghyeon, who had a face without a single worry.
“Wrinkles between the eyebrows aren’t pretty.”
“Ah…”
“What are you worrying about? It’s something ordinary people like us can’t do anything about.”
He was excessively carefree.
Did other ordinary people generally think like Ji Sanghyeon too? Onyul, who had never lived ordinarily even once, found his reaction merely curious.
“Still, it’s not like there’s absolutely no civilian damage.”
“Manager, you’re so cute. Don’t worry. If by any chance a situation comes, I’ll protect you.”
“…”
“I’m quite sturdy for an ordinary person.”
Ji Sanghyeon, who smiled neatly, didn’t seem to have any worries at all.
With that carefree smile, Onyul’s anxiety also disappeared somewhat, but it didn’t completely vanish.
If a gate rampage occurred, there was a high possibility that Alpha Team would dispatch as a cleanup team.
Will Baekyoung be okay? It hasn’t even been that long since he calmed down from the rampage…
Unable to shake off his worries, Onyul checked how the situation was unfolding on real-time news.
[“…The Management Bureau is currently restricting civilian access near the rampaging gate, and it appears that Alpha Team will resolve the rampaging gate.”]
The face of the announcer relaying the situation from a place slightly away from the scene was unusual. Behind her, an eerie red light was dominating the blue sky.
Just checking the scene felt like his throat was being squeezed tight.
Onyul’s face, which had deep ties to the ominous red light, crumpled miserably again. His hand holding the phone began to tremble gradually.
When he realized it, Ji Sanghyeon’s hand was grasping Onyul’s hand.
“Are you scared?”
The smile had disappeared from Ji Sanghyeon’s face. A fierce energy flowed from him, who wore a terrible expressionlessness.
Even knowing that he was an ordinary person, he felt an inexplicable sense of intimidation for some reason. It felt as if he were facing a strong esper.
Onyul, pressed down by that intimidation, obediently nodded his head.
“…”
Of course he was scared.
He’d gone to the rampaging gate to save Gu Baekyoung, but that one incident hadn’t overcome his trauma.
Perhaps it would never be healed.
But what was absurd was that his worry about whether the people he cared for would get hurt was greater than his trauma.
Onyul was worried about Alpha Team members including Gu Baekyoung.
Yoon Jihyuk with his terrible curly hair, the cool Cha Hyeran, Na Geonwoo who looked cold but couldn’t even drink coffee…
[“Right now, Alpha Team has appeared!”]
The excited announcer’s voice flowed from the phone. The screen was quickly showing Alpha Team approaching the red-lit gate.
What entered Onyul’s eyes was Gu Baekyoung wearing pitch-black clothes and a mask.
