Jung Sijun’s chest heaved greatly. Strangely, a peculiar trust arose at the way he grumbled as if wronged.
At least he had an intuition close to certainty that he wasn’t lying. That was because Yoon Kihyun knew quite a bit about Jung Sijun, even if fragmentarily.
Jung Sijun. Age twenty-five.
A combat-type S-rank esper who reigned almost like a tyrant at the Awakened Center Headquarters, a remarkable bastard who obtained the team leader position at a young age.
He remembered that at the time, voices of concern came from inside due to his young age and arrogant personality. However, when Jung Sijun produced results that could silence such noise at once, the complaints soon transformed into praise close to worship.
He proved himself that it wasn’t a team leader position given as a convenient excuse because he was one of the few S-rank espers in the country. With overwhelming ability that left no room for complaints.
‘If you only look at ability, he is an incredible bastard.’
Whenever Yoon Kihyun happened to encounter Jung Sijun at the Center, the guy always had an annoyingly high-spirited face.
In reality, there wouldn’t be many situations where Jung Sijun would have to feel intimidated or say regretful things.
An esper from a wealthy family with nothing to envy, whose ability was outstanding, and who was arrogant to no end, was acting strangely today as if he’d eaten something wrong.
Not only did he offer to bring water in an uncharacteristically gentle voice, but he also threw a fit demanding responsibility and even threw a tantrum.
Though it gave a fresh impression, that was all. How many people would like him raising hell while stark naked?
“Since I did that while drunk, I regret that part too… but asking me to take responsibility for Team Leader Jung is kind of ridiculous.”
When Yoon Kihyun answered in a wilted voice, Jung Sijun’s voice also deflated.
“Yesterday you smiled sweetly as if seducing someone, and now that you’ve sobered up, saying you don’t remember makes it all okay?”
Jung Sijun grumbled with a heavily scowled face, still feeling wronged.
No, rather than grumbling, it was a tone closer to whining. There was no unreasonableness like this unreasonableness.
‘Did this bastard really eat something wrong… Why is he suddenly acting like this?’
Yoon Kihyun was mulling over Jung Sijun’s words when he raised his eyes.
“Wait. I smiled sweetly at you?”
It was unbelievable. He might have cursed at Jung Sijun or vomited, but smiled sweetly?
No matter how dead drunk and unconscious he was, someone’s evaluation deeply embedded in a person’s inner self wouldn’t easily change.
Even though the alcohol was gradually wearing off, Yoon Kihyun still disliked Jung Sijun. His impression of Jung Sijun hadn’t changed to the point that such a thing happening before death was disgraceful.
‘Am I crazy? Could a ghost have briefly entered my body yesterday and then left? Otherwise, what reason would I have to grin at that bastard?’
He couldn’t even guess how his drunk self had acted yesterday for things to turn out like this.
“Fine. I should stop talking. Ha… Then I’m the only bastard here now, right? I’m a fucking bastard under heaven who just fucked Team Leader Yoon who was so wasted he doesn’t even remember because he seduced me a little. This is unbelievable.”
Jung Sijun exhaled a long breath and swept back his hair. Irritation and deflated emotion came through in every single action.
Yoon Kihyun stroked his sour face with his hand and fell into thought.
Looking at Jung Sijun’s words about taking responsibility and his regretful expression, it seemed he had feelings for him. It felt like self-consciousness overdrive, but if not, it was an attitude hard to explain.
‘No, I wouldn’t say anything if there had been some signal normally. What’s the point of suddenly acting like this?’
His mind was very disturbed.
Still, since he’d taken off his pants while drunk saying he’d show him what’s what, the cause had been provided by this side.
Since he didn’t want to keep seeing him whining, maybe he’d leave if he made a pretense of soothing him with empty words.
“Let’s just think we both enjoyed ourselves while drunk. We’re not kids, and talking about taking responsibility over one one-night stand—I don’t think that’s right.”
“Wow…”
When Yoon Kihyun responded in a gentler tone than before, Jung Sijun clicked his tongue as if dumbfounded.
He looked down at the pale beauty sitting perched on the bed.
The more he looked, the more incredible a man he was. Yesterday he made him anxious and drove him crazy beneath him, and as soon as he sobered up, wasn’t he driving him crazy in a different way?
“And it’s been so long since you quit the Center, why is the title still Team Leader?”
While Jung Sijun was dumbfounded, Yoon Kihyun muttered gruffly and glanced around the room. It was to check where the clothes he’d worn yesterday were.
Being stark naked was getting cold, and he didn’t want to continue having a pointless conversation with Jung Sijun while stark naked.
“It’s stuck in my mouth, so what can I do? Should I just call you Yoon Kihyun-ssi like yesterday?”
“No. It would be best if we just don’t meet so there’s no need to call me anything.”
“No, really, how can there be a person like this?”
“Whatever, where are my clothes?”
At Yoon Kihyun’s question, unable to find them with his eyes, Jung Sijun clicked his tongue and jerked his chin toward the clothes hanging on the hanger in the corner. Yoon Kihyun nodded and immediately got up from the bed.
“Ugh…”
As soon as his two feet touched the floor, his whole body ached as if screaming.
It was disturbing not knowing whether this pain was due to the rare incurable disease with medication costs reaching twenty million won per month, or the aftermath of rolling around with Jung Sijun in a drunken state last night.
It was when he was slowly putting on his underwear and clothes and straightening his appearance. He felt Jung Sijun approaching from behind.
“What is it now?”
Yoon Kihyun only turned his head to the side. Jung Sijun, looking neat in his fully dressed state—when had he put on all his clothes?—was standing with his weight on one leg.
“I’ll ask just one thing.”
“I don’t want to.”
“What’s the real reason you quit the Center?”
“What will you do with that information? Why are you even curious about that?”
“I told you yesterday too. Team Leader Yoon, no, I said Yoon Kihyun-ssi’s guiding was the best. If you have any complaints about the Center, I’ll try to arrange a position.”
The guiding must have pleased him quite a bit. Jung Sijun was strangely clinging.
So it was funny. When he had greatly contributed to calling him by that shitty nickname, and now that he felt regretful, he was clinging like this.
Though he was getting curious about how far he’d spout nonsense in detail, just imagining having an absurd war of words drained all his energy. Today too, money that Yoon Kihyun had to blow through to avoid lingering attachment to life was waiting.
He babbled whatever came to mind to end the tiresome conversation with Jung Sijun.
“Actually, I’m sick.”
“…What illness?”
“A fucking illness where just the medication costs twenty million won per month.”
Yoon Kihyun’s face was indifferent as he spat out the truth as it was.
The truth popped out from the tip of his tongue calmly, like someone pulling in someone else’s business to lie.
Should I say he came to view his own life from one step back only after setting an end? After firmly solidifying his resolve to die anyway, even though it was his own business, it felt like someone else’s.
“Then taking leave and receiving treatment would be…”
“Didn’t I say it yesterday too? You tell me why I should go there while being called a public resource.”
“That’s…”
“Please, let’s just stop. I’m tired too. Meeting again like this with someone from a company I quit is fucking absurd, ridiculous, and bewildering.”
Jung Sijun closed his mouth. Yoon Kihyun’s face wasn’t just looking unwell, it was pale white.
He seemed to have had fair skin originally, but in the time they hadn’t seen each other, the color had drained even more from his face. What about his powerless voice and his thin frame that looked like it would fit snugly in one embrace?
Yoon Kihyun, whom he’d run into by chance in another city after quitting the Center, exuded a precarious atmosphere as if he might collapse at any moment.
Jung Sijun instinctively realized. He had a premonition that if he parted with Yoon Kihyun here, he wouldn’t be able to meet him again easily.
‘This person’s guiding was the best…’
Jung Sijun knew well that the Center’s guide shortage wasn’t a matter of just a day or two. Since an S-rank guide hadn’t appeared yet, the few A-rank guides worked while being overworked.
The Esper Headquarters Director said they’d have breathing room once the training of the newly hired trainee guides ended soon, but Jung Sijun wanted to receive guiding from the guide who understood his wavelength best. That was Yoon Kihyun standing right in front of him.
“To be honest.”
“No, don’t be honest. Just forget it.”
Yoon Kihyun shook his head and shuddered. He was already afraid of what kind of bullshit he was going to spout with such a preamble.
“Listen. I know I’m being fucking pathetic too, but do you have any thoughts of being my personal guide?”
“What?”
“You seem sick of the Center, so I can’t ask you to rejoin, and all that’s left is personal employment.”
Yoon Kihyun clicked his tongue and scowled.
He just didn’t have the mental capacity to care, but if he sat quietly, he could see exactly how the Center members regarded him.
Espers tended to regard him like the Center’s equipment that would provide guiding anytime as long as the time was right, and the guides’ evaluation was a bit complicated.
What contributed most to the espers’ evaluation was that shitty nickname “public resource,” and the bastard who coined it was saying such things.
“Someone who knows that was going around calling me public resource? This is completely ridiculous.”
