***
He’d just thought it was nonsense Jung Sijun spouted every day.
Jung Sijun’s prediction was accurate. Yoon Kihyun looked up at the man standing in front of him.
‘Why did he come again?’
He wasn’t the type to often hear he was short, but when standing with Espers in particular, he ended up looking up. That annoyed him a bit. He wondered if these bastards grew taller when they Awakened.
“I stopped by a cafe and thought of you, Kihyun-ssi, so I bought this.”
Seo Igyeong was smiling brightly while handing over a takeout drink cup. At the timing when Jung Sijun happened to be away for Gate conquest.
This way, he couldn’t just let all of Jung Sijun’s nonsense slide in the future. Yoon Kihyun, who received the drink in the moment, bowed his head.
When he glanced down, the word “peppermint” was written on the lid of the takeout coffee cup. It was the last drink he’d had with Seo Igyeong.
‘…What is this really?’
He had no idea what scheme this was. Perhaps noticing Yoon Kihyun’s puzzled expression, Seo Igyeong immediately brought up the main point of his visit.
“It’s nothing else, but the Guide Headquarters Director asked me to pass on a message to you, Kihyun-ssi.”
Ah. The Guide Headquarters Director.
Come to think of it, when they ran into each other in the lobby last time, he’d said they ate together, so it seemed they often had meal gatherings.
“If you have time, could we talk for a bit?”
Seo Igyeong asked in a quite polite manner. It wasn’t the probing tone like playing word games as before. He also seemed somewhat indifferent, as if he really just wanted to briefly convey the message he’d received and leave.
‘No, if that old man has something to say, he’d come directly—why is he doing this through someone else?’
That’s the nature of high-ranking people, but it was a bit annoying. What on earth was the message he wanted to convey through Seo Igyeong of all people?
He wanted to ignore it, but the Guide Headquarters Director’s presence was too significant for that. If he wanted to keep making a living as a Guide, it couldn’t be helped. Moreover, wasn’t he currently registered at the Center as Jung Sijun’s personal Guide?
Yoon Kihyun slowly nodded and looked up at Seo Igyeong.
“…Let’s do that.”
He had to at least hear what message he wanted conveyed. Even if he didn’t like it, what could he do? That’s how working life was.
***
The place Seo Igyeong took Yoon Kihyun was the rooftop garden of the Awakened Management Center.
Since the weather was chilly, the only people out on the rooftop at this time were the two of them. It was when Yoon Kihyun, sitting on a bench placed on one side of the garden, took a sip of tea.
“I don’t know if Team Leader Jung told you, but the Guide Headquarters Director wants to bring you back somehow, Kihyun-ssi.”
Seo Igyeong got straight to the point.
‘Unexpected.’
A strange favorable impression arose from his straightforward attitude. He’d thought he’d drag out time with meaningless words since he had that slimy, smiling impression.
If only he hadn’t made that abrupt proposal to switch to being his personal Guide, he might have left a pretty decent impression.
If it was about the Guide Headquarters Director, he’d received hints from Jung Sijun a few times.
“I did hear that. But why is he saying this through you, Team Leader Seo Igyeong…”
Quite a bit of time had passed since Yoon Kihyun started commuting to the Center. But until now, he hadn’t seen even a glimpse of the Guide Headquarters Director’s face. It wasn’t like his leg was broken.
“He kept asking Team Leader Jung to arrange a meeting, but you know Team Leader Jung isn’t easy.”
“Ah.”
Yoon Kihyun let out a short interjection. Well, Jung Sijun was a guy who acted unreasonably even in front of the Esper Headquarters Director and the Center Director. So there was no way he’d listen even half-heartedly to whatever the Guide Headquarters Director said.
“So he complained to me and asked me to arrange a meeting. Well, there aren’t many people at the Center who can move without minding Team Leader Jung.”
“Mm…”
Not all his questions were resolved.
The Guide Headquarters Director’s rank was most effective not with Espers but with Guides. So it would have been more convenient in many ways to have a Guide do it rather than asking Seo Igyeong.
‘Ah. Did everyone perhaps refuse because they were afraid of losing their rice bowl?’
Even though work-life balance was a mess, if you were to pick the best workplace as a Guide, there was definitely no choice other than the Awakened Management Center.
Even though everyone lived making sick sounds and pouring out curses, this was the only place that paid this much salary. So naturally, Guides with some seniority started political maneuvering within the Center to protect or upgrade their rice bowl while being mindful of personnel evaluations and incentives.
Usually, to get on a line, social drinking and networking were essential, but Yoon Kihyun’s focus was solely on incentives.
As a result, he’d holed up at the Center doing only Guiding without any line, then got sick and slammed down his resignation letter, but the case of the remaining Guides would be different.
“I heard he treated you pretty badly before you resigned, Kihyun-ssi.”
Seo Igyeong continued with an awkward smile. Yoon Kihyun fell into thought for a moment.
Treated badly. If ignoring greetings, petty and one-dimensional work retaliation, and threatening as if to say don’t think about working as a Guide counted as treating badly, then that was it.
“There’s no point in talking about such things now that I’ve resigned.”
It was an ambiguous statement that was neither agreement nor denial, but it was an answer. Seo Igyeong understood the meaning and laughed quietly. Borrowing the expression he used at the drinking gathering with the Guide Headquarters Director, he said it was ‘a bit of spite’ but…
‘Looking at his expression, he doesn’t seem to have any intention of returning to the Center.’
Well. Seo Igyeong also knew well that Yoon Kihyun’s treatment had been poor. Though he didn’t hear it from his team members, he’d frequently heard expressions like public good or trash.
In any case, since he’d been asked, he was in a position to convey it from the middle. He also personally owed a debt to the Guide Headquarters Director.
“Anyway, he wants to meet and apologize, but as you know, Kihyun-ssi, the pride of high-ranking people is so strong.”
“Ah, well…”
Yoon Kihyun nodded. Because he understood roughly how the situation was going.
In the Guide Headquarters Director’s own way, this was probably a gesture of reconciliation extended to him while lowering his pride as much as possible.
For someone trying to make a living through Guiding, the influence of someone at the level of Guide Headquarters Director could never be ignored.
Even Yoon Kihyun had been troubled, recalling the threats the Guide Headquarters Director had uttered whenever he tried to steel his mind to somehow live.
If it weren’t for the position of Jung Sijun’s personal Guide where the Director’s influence hardly reached, he might have cleanly given up on the idea of working as a Guide.
Such a person was sending him a friendly reconciliation gesture while setting aside that stubborn personality. Through S-rank Esper Seo Igyeong, no less.
While working as Jung Sijun’s personal Guide, there would probably be no occasion to meet him, but there was nothing good about causing friction with Center higher-ups. So he wanted to pass it over as amicably as possible.
He’d also directly experienced through his situation with Jung Sijun that you never know what will happen with people.
“I understand what you’re saying. But I have absolutely no intention of returning to the Center, so that’s troubling.”
That’s how people are. Once you’re sitting face-to-face, it wasn’t easy to openly say unpleasant things.
He vividly remembered feeling tormented all day after being sarcastic for no reason when he was misunderstanding Jung Sijun.
Even though his feelings toward the Guide Headquarters Director weren’t good, he didn’t know what would happen if he actually sat face-to-face, received an apology, and heard a Center reinstatement proposal.
His physical condition couldn’t handle long Guiding sessions, so he’d naturally refuse but…
‘Where would I find time to meet the Director and eat? As if the food would go down well.’
It was a thoroughly unappealing proposition, and he was lost in thought when—
“The Guide Headquarters Director would be disappointed to hear that.”
“Well…”
That’s not my concern. When Yoon Kihyun laughed quietly, Seo Igyeong also smiled appropriately.
“Anyway, I came to find you, Kihyun-ssi, because I was asked to convey a message, but thinking about Team Leader Jung coming to make a fuss again makes it annoying.”
“Coming to make a fuss… you say?”
“It’s not the first or second time, so I just accept it, but if he does it over today’s matter, I’d feel a bit wronged too. I just conveyed what I was asked to. Don’t you think?”
Seo Igyeong shrugged. Perhaps recalling Jung Sijun’s protest visits, he shook his head slightly, looking quite tired.
“I’ll tell him you came because you had a message to convey.”
He didn’t know if Jung Sijun would take his words at face value, but since he wasn’t making up facts, he could do this much.
“I’d be grateful if you did. I also want to avoid fighting with Team Leader Jung as much as possible now. I wish we could each just do our own thing, but I end up stuck in the middle in various ways, which is troubling.”
I see. Yoon Kihyun swallowed his dry impression and sipped his tea. No matter how he thought about it, he had no intention of reinstating at the Center, so it was better to indirectly refuse the Guide Headquarters Director’s proposal.
“I know it’s troublesome, but could you tell the Guide Headquarters Director that I refused?”
“Ah, I’m stuck in the middle again?”
Seo Igyeong laughed and looked troubled.
It wasn’t that Yoon Kihyun wanted to use Seo Igyeong as a messenger. But wasn’t it the Guide Headquarters Director, not him, who conveyed his message through Seo Igyeong instead of coming directly? So conveying his answer to Seo Igyeong wouldn’t be a great discourtesy.
Even if the Guide Headquarters Director felt this was discourteous, what could he do? He had neither the intention nor the capacity to return to the Center.
“Since you’re already conveying a message from the middle once, I’m asking you.”
“Ah. Well, fine. That’s fine but… I also have a favor to ask.”
“A favor… you say?”
“Yes. A favor.”
Seo Igyeong was smiling brightly. It was a slightly different atmosphere from the smile he used to make before.
