“Hello.”
Ilkyung, with his energy completely drained and shoulders slumped, greeted quietly. Section Chief Kang sitting next to him waved and greeted him back, then opened his eyes wide.
“Oh! Assistant Manager Woo. That’s an outfit I haven’t seen before! The clothes are pretty. Did you buy them?”
“Huh?”
Ah, so I didn’t ask about this.
The clothes he’d worn yesterday were neatly placed in a shopping bag and loaded in the car. And Ilkyung was now wearing the clothes Director Ha had given him this morning. But thinking about it again, he was curious how he knew his size. And why were clothes that fit his size at his house? Ilkyung tilted his head.
“But seriously, the clothes really suit you. It’s really bright.”
“Ah, you think so?”
Ilkyung smiled awkwardly and sat down.
The Center had a relatively free dress code. As long as you dressed neatly, it didn’t matter if it wasn’t a suit. The clothes Ilkyung wore today were a pink striped shirt with navy slacks. It would be a bit unpleasant if these clothes were worn by Director Ha’s ex-lover.
Ilkyung tapped out a text message on his phone.
*I was too out of it this morning to ask, but Director. I’ll wash the clothes I’m wearing and return them to you as soon as possible.*
*Keep those clothes, Ilkyung-ssi. I have no use for them even if you return them. And I bought those for you to wear.*
Ilkyung furrowed his brow at the reply. What does this mean? You bought them for me to wear? Then how did you really know my size? Ilkyung pursed his lips for no reason. Could it be that someone he dated before had a similar build to me?
*Ah, I understand. Thank you.*
He thanked him for now, but there were many parts that bothered him. When on earth did he buy these clothes? That alone didn’t make sense. It didn’t seem like Director Ha would go out and buy them himself, and there wouldn’t be any department stores open at that time. Well, what can’t a chaebol do?
Then was the taste in these clothes not Director Ha’s, but that of the person who bought them?
“Assistant Manager Woo. Assistant Manager Ilkyung!”
“Yes?”
“Team Leader is looking for you.”
“Ah, yes! I’m coming, Team Leader!”
Ilkyung, who had been spacing out, hurried over to the Team Leader who was looking for him.
* * *
“Haah, finally going home.”
Unlike yesterday, Ilkyung dashed out of the office right at 6 o’clock sharp. It had been a very long day. Of course, it wasn’t like he had driven himself through traffic in the morning, and perhaps because he was young, or maybe because the bean sprout soup Director Ha had prepared for him was refreshing, he didn’t even have a hangover. Nevertheless, today had been exhausting.
“I wish I could get home quickly.”
Ilkyung muttered as he got into his car.
There was still a long way to go before a month passed. They’d only met once so far. He couldn’t even guess how many more times Director Ha would call him out. If he’d known it would be like this, he should have set conditions like meeting only once a week, or only staying together for two hours when they met.
“Ah!”
Director Ha’s scent lingered in the car. A refreshing scent that seemed to resemble Director Ha. It created the illusion that Director Ha was still sitting in the passenger seat, so Ilkyung rolled down the window.
“The road’s jammed. Was there an accident?”
There was serious traffic congestion in an area that shouldn’t be congested. Ilkyung turned on the radio to check the road conditions. But before he could hear anything, his phone started ringing.
“Yes, Team Leader.”
―Assistant Manager Woo, sorry but I think you need to come back in.
“What? Was there an accident?”
―Yeah, there was an accident in the tunnel. We’re still figuring out the cause, but apparently there’s a fire in the tunnel and it’s chaos. I don’t know how bad the damage will get. The firefighters have been dispatched, but since it’s rush hour, it seems they’ve contacted us too. Plus, there are cars lined up in the tunnel and apparently there’s a tanker truck there too.
“What? A tanker truck?”
In that case, the damage could be much worse. If it were a fire on a regular road, it would be enough for the firefighters to come and put out the fire, but this was inside a tunnel. The fire could spread in an instant and there could be many casualties.
“There are a few Espers there, but they’ll need Guiding after it’s over. I think we need to assign Guides and book Guiding rooms.”
The radio was reporting that there had been an accident in a tunnel not far from where Ilkyung was.
“Team Leader. I’m near that tunnel. How many Espers are there? How many Espers need Guiding?”
―Ah, just a moment, Assistant Manager Woo.
Team Leader Park was silent for a moment, seemingly checking the reports that came in, and the car showed no signs of moving. An ambulance was coming from behind and it was noisy everywhere.
―Assistant Manager Woo.
“Yes, Team Leader.”
―Some Espers have pairs, so their designated Guides are apparently going. There are four Espers without Guides though…
“Then Team Leader. Instead of going to the Center, I’ll ask one Guide first and start Guiding the Espers who can be Guided right at the scene.”
Judging by the fact that it was still the early stages of the accident, the Espers probably weren’t seriously injured. But since they were drawing on their energy anyway, Guiding would be necessary for recovery.
―Will one Guide be enough?
“Yes, it’s fine. I’ll check their condition and if it’s serious, I’ll move them to the Center. I can think of a high-level Guide who would pass through this way.”
―Alright. There’s a teleportation Esper there, so if you need to come into the Center, ask them and come in together.
“Yes, understood. I’ll check the situation at the accident scene and if it seems like I need to go to the Center, I’ll contact you again.”
―Ah, okay. Assistant Manager Woo, call me when the situation is wrapped up. Oh, and the matching might not work out, so I’ll text you the Esper list.
“Yes, I’ll call you back.”
The person who came to Ilkyung’s mind right now was Director Ha Daehoon. Normally they would assign Guides based on matching rates, but he was someone who could Guide most Espers regardless of that.
Since Ilkyung had left as soon as it was quitting time, the others who left work later than Ilkyung on average were probably still stuck at the Center. Then where would Director Ha be now? Director Ha didn’t seem like someone who left work that early either…
“If the executive leaves early, the subordinates can leave early too. No consideration.”
Ilkyung grumbled unnecessarily and called Director Ha.
―Yes, this is Ha Daehoon.
“Director, this is Woo Ilkyung.”
―Yes, I know.
“Director, if it’s alright with you, could I ask you to do some Guiding work? There was a tunnel accident and they say they need one Guide, and if you’re on your way home, I thought you might be passing near that tunnel.”
Ilkyung knew that Director Ha had to take this road when leaving work too. They had come this way together this morning, after all.
―I just left the Center, is it that tunnel on the way home?
“Yes, that’s right. If you don’t have evening plans, could I ask you?”
―Who is the Esper?
At that question, Ilkyung stiffened. He hadn’t received the Esper list from Team Leader Park yet. There was something that bothered him, but it was better to handle it quickly.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t figured that out yet. They say there’s even a tanker truck there… Please, Director!”
Ilkyung wanted to go home quickly. If the fire spread to the tanker truck, it would be a major accident that could turn the entire area upside down.
“What? Director, please. Since it’s a road you have to take on your way home anyway, couldn’t you come to that tunnel?”
Ilkyung requested again. Director Ha answered that he understood and hung up the phone. And Ilkyung arrived at the accident scene exactly 20 minutes later. Acrid smoke stung his nose. Ilkyung narrowed his brow and looked for the Espers.
“Ah, there they are!”
The Espers must have arrived early and put up barriers and moved the cars. The firefighters who arrived late were spraying water where the cars had been moved and sorting out the situation. Ilkyung waved his hand toward the Espers who were coming out dusting themselves off.
“Ah!”
But the moment Ilkyung identified who the Espers were, he froze.
“Is the situation all sorted out?”
At this point, wasn’t this just fate? Ilkyung thought something that would earn him a barrage of curses if anyone heard, and squeezed his eyes shut. That shaman bastard, I really won’t let him off. What great fortune, we need to hold a gut ritual at this rate. In front of Ilkyung were Esper Yoon Bomi and Esper Lee Seonju, and Director Ha Daehoon was walking up from behind, having just arrived.
