Unable to lower his head, Ilkyung just cast his eyes downward.
“That’s not what I’m scolding you for. Look at me.”
At Daehoon’s command, Ilkyung timidly raised his eyes from looking down. The eyes that seemed like they would be fiercely sharp unexpectedly held warmth, and for a moment Ilkyung thought he’d seen wrong. He still seemed drunk.
“Even if Ilkyung-ssi is a man, it’s dangerous to fall asleep drunk anywhere.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not saying to apologize to me, I’m telling you this for your sake. End of nagging. Now let’s dry your hair.”
Daehoon turned on the hair dryer and began gently caressing Ilkyung’s hair. Ilkyung had been pouting at the mom-like nagging, but his body became drowsy from the warm air and he nodded off sleepily. The large hands were unexpectedly soft, and he wanted to rub his cheek against those palms and act spoiled.
Dawn was breaking as the view beyond the window grew increasingly brighter. Somehow, the two of them ended up greeting the morning together.
“If you’re tired, go back to sleep.”
“No, I need to go now. If Mom finds out I stayed out again, she’ll kill me.”
“How old are you to still be like that?”
“I can’t help it. That’s just how my mom is.”
Ilkyung rubbed his eyes, heavy with sleep, and spoke slowly. Daehoon asked while organizing the hair dryer cord.
“Does your family still not know you stayed out tonight?”
“Of course I called my noona and she thought I came home properly.”
“Is that so? Then let’s go.”
“What? No, I’ll just call a taxi… I’ve already caused you enough trouble.”
Ilkyung bowed his head, finally feeling apologetic.
“It’s fine. Taking you there won’t cause me any more trouble anyway, so let’s go.”
“Thank you.”
Daehoon nodded lightly and grabbed his keys. Ilkyung followed behind him in a daze.
Perhaps because it was dawn, they arrived in front of his house much faster than expected. When Daehoon got out of the car, Ilkyung said it wasn’t necessary, but Daehoon insisted on making sure Ilkyung got inside safely. Ilkyung bowed his head to Daehoon in greeting.
“Thank you.”
“Alright, hurry inside. Before your family wakes up.”
“Yes. Then I’ll see you at the Center.”
It was the moment Ilkyung tried to carefully open the gate.
“Ugh, shit! You scared me!”
“What, Woo Ilkyung. Why are you outside at this hour? Don’t tell me!”
“Aah! Mom! Mom, it’s not like that! Director, Director, please help me!”
Ilkyung and his mom, who met right at the door, were in a hair-trigger situation. Without thinking, Ilkyung hid right behind Daehoon.
Right, when Woo Ilkyung said he’d take a taxi home, he should have just let him go. What possessed Ha Daehoon, who wouldn’t normally do such a thing, to want to receive a proper greeting from Woo Ilkyung…
“D-Director! Please! Please save me!”
At the dawn hour, in the quiet alley entrance where no one was awake yet, Ilkyung used Daehoon as a shield and hid behind him. Watching this, Ilkyung’s mom was dumbfounded. Anyone watching would think she was about to do something terrible to her son.
“Could you move aside?”
It was Lee Haegyeong, Woo Ilkyung’s mother, whom he’d only heard about. Daehoon had heard she’d been active as an Esper at the Central Center and retired last year, so he’d only heard of her reputation but was seeing her face for the first time.
Ilkyung hid behind him, clutching his t-shirt and trembling like a guilty puppy. Daehoon found the sight amusing and wanted to hand Ilkyung over to his mother right away and see what would happen next. On the other hand, he also thought about saving him from this crisis and getting something out of him later.
Daehoon completely shielded Ilkyung from his mother and bowed his head in greeting.
“So you’re the Esper Lee Haegyeong I’ve heard so much about. Hello. I’m Director Ha Daehoon, who joined the Central Center this year.”
At those words, Ilkyung’s mother’s face suddenly stiffened.
“There was a company dinner at the Center today, and somehow Assistant Manager Woo ended up drinking a bit too much, so I stayed with him while he sobered up. I apologize for not getting him home earlier.”
“Director Ha Daehoon?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I apologize.”
Daehoon pretended to be a good person while thinking he’d have to collect on the debt Ilkyung owed him today. Ilkyung clutched Daehoon’s clothes and peeked his face out slightly from behind his back to check on his mom’s condition.
“The Ha Daehoon from Hasin Group?”
“Ah, yes. That’s correct.”
“Oh my, this isn’t the time for this. I only saw photos so I didn’t recognize you. Photos really don’t capture the real thing. Let’s not stand here and go inside to talk.”
At his mom’s words, Ilkyung quickly interjected. Nothing good would come from Director Ha and his mom talking for a long time. Right now, if his mom’s anger was about one span’s worth for just drinking and staying out, if she found out that Ilkyung had gone to a matchmaking meeting in women’s clothing and ruined the whole thing, he wouldn’t escape death that day.
“Mom, why are you like this so early in the morning?”
Only then did Ilkyung’s mom remember that it was the crack of dawn.
“That’s why! I told you to drink in moderation!”
The moment Ilkyung’s mom tried to pull Ilkyung out and hit his back, Daehoon quickly wrapped his arms around Ilkyung and took a step back.
“I apologize. We ended up like this because I drank with him. It’s not Assistant Manager Woo’s fault, so please don’t scold him too much.”
Ilkyung’s mom, who had momentarily lost her reason and raised her hand, awkwardly smiled and slowly lowered it. Then she glared at her son with her eyes. Ilkyung was deeply nestled in Daehoon’s embrace, reading the situation.
“I’ll see you next time. It’s too early in the morning today.”
“Alright. Let’s make sure to meet next time. Give my regards to Chairman Ha.”
“Yes, I will.”
Daehoon released Ilkyung from his embrace and bowed his head politely in greeting. He couldn’t have been more courteous and well-mannered.
“Then, Assistant Manager Woo, I’ll see you on Monday.”
“Yes. Please get home safely.”
Ilkyung hurried into the house, hoping his mom would get away from Director Ha Daehoon quickly.
“But Mom, where were you going at this hour?”
“To exercise.”
“At this hour?”
“It’s only you who comes home drunk at this hour, everyone else is moving around diligently.”
In the end, his mom’s anger flared up again and she smacked Ilkyung’s back with a loud slap. Ilkyung jumped on the spot and rubbed his spreading pain on his back.
“Oww! That hurts!”
“I hit you so it would hurt! So it would hurt! Director Ha was perfectly fine but how much did you drink to still reek of alcohol!”
Ilkyung grabbed his mom’s wrist as she tried to hit him again and struggled.
“If you dare stay out again! I’ll really kick you out of the house then.”
“I mean, how old am I for Mom to still—!”
“If you live in Mom’s house, Mom’s word is law!”
His parents said he could be independent whenever he wanted, but Ilkyung liked living under his mom’s care, which is why he stubbornly stayed.
“Gosh, he’s so handsome, I wonder why it didn’t work out with Minkyung at that matchmaking meeting.”
Ilkyung flinched.
“Maybe it was because it was a formal matchmaking and he felt burdened? I should have just let them meet naturally.”
She had such lingering regrets, so he absolutely couldn’t let her find out that Woo Ilkyung was the main force behind overturning that matchmaking meeting. If by any chance the day came when she found out the truth, his spine already went cold just thinking about what would happen.
* * *
“Why is it raining so much when it’s May? The wind is no joke either. I was wondering if wind Espers were deployed as a group.”
As Ilkyung entered the office, he greeted Section Chief Kang with a lament.
“Haha, that’s one way to put it. It really is weather like wind Espers were deployed as a group. Wasn’t traffic bad?”
“Traffic was terrible. I left 15 minutes earlier than usual Monday mornings but I almost ran late.”
Ilkyung made a fuss after seeing Section Chief Kang, whom he’d met in the parking lot.
“You’re exaggerating. There’s still 15 minutes left.”
“I get anxious if I don’t have some leisure time in the morning.”
“Well, our work does require a lot of preparation.”
Ilkyung nodded. Especially Mondays were busier because there was a general meeting.
Espers and Guides had strong individual tendencies. Although Espers were grouped into teams, teams were formed and disbanded for each case they handled, so they didn’t have strong cohesion like the Field Support Team.
Guides were even more individualistic than Espers. When incidents and accidents occurred, Espers would gather among themselves to discuss and resolve them, engaging in group activities. But Guides acted individually, so things like cohesion or cooperation didn’t exist. After all, guiding Espers wasn’t done as a group.
