“I have an appointment today so I have to go now. Let’s talk again later, both of you!”
“I have nothing more to say. Don’t see me again.”
Jiwon added to Choi Hyerin who turned her body pretending to be fine and left the cafe. Though she must have clearly heard those words, Choi Hyerin escaped as if fleeing, kicking open the cafe door without looking back.
“What are you looking at? Is the show over?!”
Choi Hyerin, who encountered ability users gathered from the lobby toward the cafe direction while leaving Cafe Ellin, vented her anger at the wrong place and disappeared outside the center.
Jiwon checked the phone screen he was holding and pressed end recording to save it. In fact, he had secretly turned on recording when Choi Hyerin first spoke to Seo Gangwoo.
That phone screen was also visible to Seo Gangwoo standing behind him. Jiwon turned his head back and looked up at Seo Gangwoo, waving his phone and grinning like a villain.
“Repelled!”
At Jiwon’s bright voice, laughter burst out from here and there.
“Puhahaha, Guide Kim Jiwon, why are you so good with words? You startled me!”
Team Leader Lee Juyeon approached, unable to stop laughing.
“But will it really be okay? Letting Guide Choi Hyerin go like that?”
Esper Lee Minhyeok, who had approached at some point, also spoke words of concern. He too seemed to recall the situation just now, as his lips were raised.
“It’s fine. I thought we’d see each other once anyway, but I didn’t know it would be today.”
“Right. It’ll be harder for Guide Choi Hyerin’s side to pull tricks now. Because it’s harder to hide. Still, just in case, I’ll tell the center to keep watch. The previous contract termination matter will be made public soon too. The Center Director and headquarters are also waiting for their chance.”
After exchanging a few words with them, Jiwon left the cafe still holding Seo Gangwoo’s hand. The two got into their parked car and left the center.
Jiwon liked the quiet inside of the car, unlike the noisy moment before.
This was the first time confronting someone so openly like this, so no matter how mentally prepared he had been, he couldn’t help but be nervous.
He stretched out his body comfortably in the passenger seat and looked outside as it passed by. Still, satisfaction grew at having safely handled that situation as much as he had waited and prepared, and a smile formed at the corners of his mouth.
“…Are you alright?”
Seo Gangwoo’s low, thick voice filled the car. Jiwon turned his head and stared intently at Seo Gangwoo’s profile as he smoothly turned the wheel. His high nose bridge and sharp jawline caught his eye.
“Yes. I’m fine. Are you okay, Esper Seo Gangwoo-nim? I stepped forward on my own.”
“…I was a bit surprised.”
“?”
“I didn’t think Guide Kim Jiwon would step forward even while confronting that person.”
“Ah, well. I got angry at what Guide Choi Hyerin was saying. I got a bit excited.”
“I’m sorry. This was something I should have handled in advance…”
Seo Gangwoo’s brow filled with apologetic tension at the thought that he hadn’t prevented Jiwon from encountering Choi Hyerin and had even made him step forward directly.
“No~! Why are you apologizing to me, Esper Seo Gangwoo-nim?”
“In a way, this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t paired with me.”
“You don’t have to do that. Of course, it’s true I stepped forward because of Esper-nim. It’s true I got involved because we became pairs… But I’m happy to be paired with Esper Seo Gangwoo-nim. I chose this myself and I expected something like this to happen when making the pair contract. I stepped forward because I wanted to. So you don’t need to feel sorry or worry.”
Flustered, Jiwon waved his hands as if telling him not to and continued speaking.
Seo Gangwoo, who had been worried that Jiwon might regret making a pair contract with him due to this incident, let out a small sigh of relief. And his chest tickled at Jiwon saying he was happy to be paired with him.
“By any chance… were you displeased that I stepped forward?”
Jiwon asked carefully.
“No. Absolutely not.”
Far from being displeased, he actually felt good.
At first, the situation of Jiwon stepping forward for him was unfamiliar. But when he blocked in front of him with a body much smaller and frailer than his own as if to protect him, and when he called him my Esper to another person, he couldn’t forget those emotions of that moment.
“And…”
At the continuing words, Jiwon stopped fidgeting and waited for Seo Gangwoo’s words. Seo Gangwoo, who had hesitated for a long time over his next words, slowly opened his mouth.
“I’m also glad that Guide Kim Jiwon is my pair.”
Jiwon thought every time he heard Seo Gangwoo’s low bass voice that it was a pleasant voice to hear.
It was a sincere voice that somehow resonated in the chest.
And at the words that voice contained, Jiwon grinned. Even without saying more, a soft atmosphere flowed between the two.
Jiwon lowered his gaze and looked down at his feet. With his floating heart, he needed to confirm with his eyes whether he had climbed onto a cloud.
He looked out at the desolate scenery outside with few people.
The sunny weather had become gloomy as if it would rain, but to Jiwon’s eyes it looked good as if a rainbow was reflected.
“Let’s hurry home and eat the dessert we bought at Ellin together.”
Seo Gangwoo, who confirmed Jiwon’s smiling face, nodded his head.
He wanted to quickly open the dessert boxes placed in the back seat. Imagining the sweet and sour taste along with his sweet mood, Jiwon’s smile didn’t disappear all the way home.
* * *
After that, even during the two visits to the center for Seo Gangwoo’s regular examinations, there was no particular reaction from Choi Hyerin’s side.
Though he thought they might contact him again, fortunately such a thing didn’t happen. So the two could focus on stabilizing Seo Gangwoo’s unstable energy while going back and forth between home and the center.
Unlike the peaceful daily life of the two, the center and the ability user headquarters were being turned upside down. Headquarters phones exploded with fact-checking inquiries, and many inside headquarters also fell into panic at the belatedly revealed facts.
Center 1 executives continued to be called to ability user headquarters to handle matters related to this incident, and an inspection team was dispatched to headquarters and Center 8 where Choi Hyerin’s father was, stirring things up to root out those involved in Guide Choi Hyerin’s unilateral pair contract termination.
Through the ability users who had directly witnessed the three people at the cafe that day, everyone at Center 1 learned what had been happening. And through their mouths, rumors were spreading to centers in other districts.
Though the center and headquarters controlled information, and there was also an implicit prohibition among ability users against carelessly spreading ability user-related incidents or gossip to ordinary people, it was impossible to shut everyone’s mouths.
Now it spreading externally was only a matter of time. Already, reporters who had sensed something were lurking around headquarters and the center.
“Why are we still having meetings about this issue? Of course we should punish firmly. Didn’t they secretly terminate the pair contract without procedures? Their intentions are extremely impure. An S-rank Esper pair is no joke!”
During the headquarters executive meeting, Director Park Jungseok spoke heatedly.
“That’s right! Even though it’s been two months since the pair termination, they’ve been completely deceived without receiving penalties. This is truly outrageous. Is this an action that could be done without disrespecting the ability user headquarters?”
“Exactly!”
Like the executive who chimed in, the majority of executives agreed.
Executives who hadn’t known until the situation grew larger didn’t hide their displeased expressions, and executives who had known belatedly but kept their mouths shut after taking bribes from Choi Taekyung, Choi Hyerin’s father, were clearing their throats awkwardly and feeling uncomfortable.
“I know, I know. Of course Guide Choi Hyerin’s punishment must be done. But don’t we need some cleanup regarding those involved within headquarters? If it’s revealed as is, only the headquarters’ image will be damaged.”
The one who opened his mouth while organizing the situation was Director Kim Hyeonjae, who occupied a fairly powerful position among the headquarters executives. He was a person in the line of Choi Taehyeon, Choi Hyerin’s grandfather.
“Ahem, that’s right. Public opinion could just worsen unnecessarily.”
Director Lee Pilho, sitting next to Director Kim Hyeonjae, chimed in. He glanced at the front of the conference table. Three chairmen were seated at the front, and Choi Taehyeon was seated in one of those seats with an expressionless face.
“If this fact becomes known, public opinion can’t be good anyway!”
“Still, if the scale is reduced, won’t the aftermath also be reduced accordingly?”
“Because you think so complacently, things became this mess!”
“What do you mean complacent? Don’t look at the trees, look at the forest! And Director Park, you didn’t know either!”
“What nonsense are you spouting!”
“You’re the one who should look at the forest! Is this something that can be glossed over like this?”
“Tsk!~ You’re saying frustrating things. Who doesn’t know that? I’m saying this because it’s all for the sake of headquarters! Aren’t you thinking about the future?”
“No, this fellow—!!!”
Loud voices filled the conference room. It was tense with the confrontation between Choi Taehyeon’s line trying to minimize the Guide Choi Hyerin pair contract termination fraud case and the side saying there must be thorough investigation and punishment.
Moreover, executives trying to reduce the power of Chairman Choi Taehyeon’s line, which had the most power within headquarters, by taking this incident as an opportunity also joined the fight.
Among the power lines within headquarters, Chairman Choi Taehyeon’s line had the largest scale and the strongest power. This was because the Choi family had continuously occupied internal high-ranking positions since the early days of headquarters’ establishment, and those powers had accumulated.
