Upon boarding the plane, I saw Kim Haewon sitting with an eye mask on. It seemed like a clear signal that he didn’t want to talk with me. Or maybe he was really tired. I sat in a seat a bit away from Kim Haewon.
The private jet hastily airlifted from Korea had many seats, so I didn’t have to sit next to him. However, it wasn’t like a bed as the one we’d ridden before, and the seats were just a bit wider.
Management Bureau staff boarded the private jet one by one, and not long after, the plane took off. The Management Bureau seemed to be trying not to upset Kim Haewon as much as possible. I was also tired, so I wrapped myself moderately in a blanket and tried to sleep.
As soon as we arrived in Korea, all the Association people on the plane headed to the VIP Medical Center. It was a place I was now getting sick of. Kim Haewon and I received energy examinations at the research building and had our health conditions comprehensively checked. They also re-treated the places that had received emergency treatment in China. Fortunately, the overall opinion was that there were no abnormalities.
However, since it had been a dangerous incident, the security level was raised higher, so I was confined to a hospital room for the time being. The only person who could visit was Kim Haewon, who was in a pair relationship with me. But he didn’t say a single word even until arriving at the medical center. Given that atmosphere, I thought there would be no occasion for him to visit in the future either.
And my prediction was spot on. Three full days passed, but Kim Haewon didn’t come looking for me.
“No, isn’t this confinement?”
It was called protection, but it was almost no different from confinement. I wondered if Kim Haewon had complained to the Association, but seeing that there were no other investigations, that didn’t seem to be it either.
I wolfed down my food. Fortunately, there was no change in the food being delicious. Rather, it seemed like the side dishes had gotten even better. I cleaned my tray completely.
Nam Ihyeon was also prohibited from entering, so he couldn’t come in either. He added that the Association seemed to be making an unusual fuss only about this incident. Messages kept coming as if he had nothing to do. I also received them out of boredom, but later it became a bit annoying, so I tossed my phone aside and dug through my laptop for news related to Pamundong.
Regarding Pamundong, negotiations were still not over. The Chinese government ultimately refused entry. Their will to not shy away from friction with other countries was visible. Each country sent harsh criticism asking what Pamundong was hiding, but they didn’t budge at all.
Inside Pamundong, Suo Weiqian’s death seemed to be causing great ripples. Opinions were divided on who to elevate as the next chairman, but a decision didn’t seem to have been made.
Would the Alliance Leader continue to take Pamundong, who had lost Suo Weiqian? Or would they use it as a card to discard? Seeing the Chinese government protect them, it seemed they still had use. The problem was in what way they would be utilized.
Regarding Ryu Heegang, no particular information came out either inside or outside the Association. Probably there had been no results since then. If there had been progress, they would have released some information already.
“Ah, there’s no new information.”
On top of that, there were no novel uploads from author HatefulCat either. The tense situation had whooshed past, and suddenly things to do were completely cut off. So the given time only felt long. Sitting down, I only kept yawning. I wanted to go exercise at least, but even that was rejected.
At first I thought Director Ham Minho was being overly cautious, but it turned out it was a decision made by the Association. Probably after Ryu Heegang’s incident, since the SS-class espers’ agitation was severe, this matter had been elevated globally as an extremely urgent and serious issue.
‘Well, if the SS-class espers unite and refuse to carry out missions, there isn’t a single country that could handle the damage.’
Even when Akutagawa Yu naturalized from Japan to America, Japan-US relations had deteriorated to the worst. Possession of SS-class espers was an issue that determined national power. That’s why China had taken a big hit this time. Their only esper had become unable to operate.
“They won’t be able to hold out for long and will probably open Pamundong…”
Whatever came out from inside would be a problem, and nothing coming out would also be a problem. Probably when Pamundong opened, all the espers who had entered that gate would try to go. Since they’d already been involved in the incident, they would try to see it through. Kim Haewon would properly learn the truth of the incident. Though he would never share it with me.
‘I guess I have no choice but to quietly wait until the novel is uploaded.’
The fluffy bed was nice, but because I’d rested for three whole days, I felt stiff and itchy. It would be nice if they’d send me to another site at least, but they didn’t do that either. I flailed around on the bed and picked up the phone I’d tossed aside. Suddenly not reading the messages, Nam Ihyeon was throwing a tantrum right away.
Hey! Hey! Park Garam!
Even though you have nothing to do in the hospital room, now you’re ignoring me? ㅡㅡ
I was confined like this, but Nam Ihyeon must be busy with Association work… That didn’t seem to be the case.
Isn’t Esper Nam Ihyeon busy? Looks like you’re not working?
As soon as I replied, a message came from Nam Ihyeon sharp as a knife.
I’m busy but making time to contact you, okay? In case you’re bored?
Learn from this consideration
I rolled my body while reading the message. He was clearly contacting me because he was bored too, but he made good excuses.
Got it~ Good work~
I sent a casual message and rolled around on the blanket. Someone had said that if you wrap yourself in a blanket like gimbap it makes you feel better, so I wondered if I should try it. Normally I would never do it, but I was so bored I felt like my head would go crazy. I tried rolling myself tightly in the fluffy blanket, but it didn’t work well.
After several failures, I wrapped my whole body like a caterpillar and wriggled. After wrapping myself hard, even wriggling wasn’t easy.
“How could something like this make you feel better?”
It was an absurd feeling. However, it was strangely comfortable too. I decided not to unwrap the blanket and just not think about anything. Having been constantly troubled by various things recently, I seemed to have forgotten the preciousness of this quiet daily life.
Should I take a nap like this? As I was about to close my eyes thinking that, the door opened with a knock-knock sound. My chest felt stuffy. I could tell who it was without looking. At least if it were medical staff, they wouldn’t open the door without hearing my answer. Only Association people did that. And among them, there was only one person who could visit now.
“…What are you doing?”
Kim Haewon looked at me rolled up like gimbap, then asked in a voice that absolutely couldn’t understand. I was embarrassed and tried to quickly unwrap myself, but since I’d done it quite firmly, it didn’t come undone easily. I groaned while moving my body, then just gave up and continued speaking.
“I heard doing this makes you feel better, so I tried it once.”
“Who says such things?”
“On the internet.”
“You believe such things?”
“…Ah, I just tried it, okay? Why did you come here?”
I spoke in a small voice out of embarrassment while squirming to unwrap myself. When I tried to do it hastily it didn’t work well, but when I did it slowly it came undone easily. When I sat on the bed, Kim Haewon approached closer.
“There are visitor restrictions so only I can visit, so I came. Did you eat?”
“Yes. I ate. So… is everything going well?”
I asked subtly. Kim Haewon nodded and sat in the simple chair next to the bed.
“In two days, we’ll be entering Pamundong. The target is the secret location Suo Weiqian was trying to head to. The Chinese government will probably have worked on it beforehand, but we have to hope there are things remaining.”
Kim Haewon readily told me everything without suspecting me. I rolled my eyes not knowing what his intention was, and Kim Haewon finished his words.
“Will you go together?”
“What? Me too?”
Kim Haewon nodded.
“Su-suddenly why?”
I looked at him with an expression that couldn’t dismiss suspicion. Kim Haewon stared at me intently.
“Wouldn’t it be helpful if Guide Park Garam went?”
“Since when did you think that…”
I grumbled while gauging his reaction. Last time he’d been yelling and shouting, but this time he was coaxing gently.
“It’s true that you were very helpful in this incident too. I’m grateful. Though I failed to convey it.”
“Wh-why are you suddenly like this, really? So I can’t adjust?”
I felt like goosebumps were about to rise on my arms. I couldn’t adjust to Kim Haewon saying such things. It wasn’t like he’d suddenly reformed, so why was he like this? I turned my gaze away for no reason and continued speaking.
“When did you treat me like a criminal and interrogate me? Coming now and saying this, do you think I’ll just eagerly follow along?”
“I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”
“It’s not that my feelings were hurt…! It’s just, it was a bit like that.”
Actually, if I thought about it, the emotion I felt was exactly hurt feelings. I had also moved as one team there, and wanted to be acknowledged that I wanted to save someone with one heart. Even if my attack power was 0, I wanted to appeal that I wanted to help you by mobilizing everything I knew.
But nothing went according to my will. Kim Haewon misunderstood me, and the whole situation became worse so it could only be more misunderstood. When it became like that, I seemed to have gone a bit crazy and charged at Kim Haewon.
Actually, I thought the relationship with Kim Haewon was now irreparable. Since it couldn’t be helped, the feeling that whatever happens happens was bigger. Even after several days passed since returning from China without a single contact, I thought reconciliation was no longer possible.
But receiving an unexpected apology in this situation, I was rather awkward. He might have been gauging the timing to apologize to me. If so, wouldn’t that mean it was similar in texture to Kim Haewon’s heart in the novel?
‘Could Kim Haewon’s feelings that appeared in the novel be real?’
I opened my eyes wide and looked at Kim Haewon. He was looking at me with eyes like a calm lake.
“Esper Kim Haewon.”
“Yes.”
“By any chance, do you like me?”
At my words, the eyes like a calm lake rippled as if a stone had been thrown.
