By Zephyria 
“I don’t care who you live with, Sunbae, but it’s a bit problematic that you’re planning to leave the official residence.”
Kang Suk-young answered firmly, setting her glass down on the table with a sharp clack. The first reason Jeil Heon was granted a certain degree of freedom of movement despite a Corruption Level that warranted isolation was Yoo Jiha; the second was the barrier of the Ten Thousand Waves Flute deployed across the Management Bureau’s central headquarters. No matter how tight his leash was, as the Director of the Management Bureau, she could not let Jeil Heon—who could turn into an Aberration at any moment—step outside.
“Can I be honest with my opinion?”
“I’m not listening.”
“Even before Jiha stabilized my Corruption Level, I had no problem passing through the barrier. Even if the barrier has been strengthened now that the Master has awakened, you can’t expect him to keep staying here just for my sake. It must already be a burden for him to remain awake and active externally.”
“…….”
Kang Suk-young’s face crumpled. To attack with cold, hard facts—how cowardly.
“Regardless of the barrier, Jiha is the only one who can reliably lower the Corruption Level. He’s already struggling with the commute; my house is in Seoul and it’s spacious.”
“So, what you’re saying, Sunbae, is that you want to take that timid-looking kid and live with him in a house where ghosts appear?”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“What’s wrong?! He’s the one who blew up a cursed house on his wedding day, killing his entire family and dying a glorious death!”
She shouted, suddenly worked up, then narrowed her eyes meaningfully as if remembering something.
“Sunbae, don’t tell me you’re having some strange thoughts about Yoo Jiha?”
“What thoughts?”
“According to the report, you were the one pretending to be Yoo Jiha’s lover at the opera house.”
At those words, Jeil Heon, who had been tilting his glass, choked and coughed. As he finally calmed down, his face showed a level of shock that was uncharacteristic of him, making Kang Suk-young feel a bit awkward.
“Do you even know how old he is……?”
“I do……. I know you’re not interested in younger guys, and I know you’re not some bastard who hits on someone twelve years his junior, but you adore him so much that it’s suspicious.”
“What could I possibly do with a kid twelve years younger than me…….”
The moment he spoke those words, the incident at the Hansung Opera House rushed back before his eyes.
“…….”
Jeil Heon rubbed his face, feeling as if he wanted to bite his tongue and die. If they lived together, they would clash more often; he absolutely must not make a mistake with that boy.
Setting aside his own mistakes, in a sense, it might be better to be misunderstood like this. Seeing that the Smiling Man had sent an Aberration into the Management Bureau, the seal on the Smiling Man likely wouldn’t hold for long. Once freed, the Smiling Man would surely observe him and inevitably cast his gaze upon Yoo Jiha.
He had agonized over countless ways to protect Yoo Jiha, and bringing him home to keep him close was the best option. On one hand, he worried that keeping him by his side was too conspicuous, but if there was room for others to misunderstand that he had some other ulterior motive, then it was a relief. He only needed to be careful himself.
The smile mark that had vanished in an instant occasionally gouged his eyes as if engraved on his retinas; suppressing the urge to rip his eyeballs out again, Jeil Heon drank his liquor. The Smiling Man……. A truly fitting identification name for that fellow.
* * *
He had been so curious about whether the conversation with the younger siblings had gone well over the weekend that he could hardly sleep, but it felt awkward to ask first. If by any chance it hadn’t gone well, it would only upset a person who was already troubled. He stole glances even while out on field duty, but he couldn’t read any emotion from that usual expression.
The third Aberrant Realm they explored was a supermarket. There were giant marts where one wrong move could lead to being graded and displayed as a product in the meat section, but the place Team 7 entered was a neighborhood mart with more modest rules. He broke into a cold sweat at Song Hilda’s reassurance that it was a safe place since any mistake could be settled by paying with a part of one’s body.
‘Isn’t the very mindset of paying with a body part—rather than money—dangerous?’
It would be better to give up a kidney and survive than to die, but still…….
Fortunately, there was no need to pay with his body. The exploration was completed by discovering one Aberration that had newly formed and become bound to the mart, returning a cart that was wriggling with a strange mass of tentacles because it had been abandoned on the roadside, and rescuing a victim who had become a mannequin with their left arm and right leg bent backward, as well as another victim exhausted from dealing with malicious complaints.
Unlike the entry methods, which varied by Aberrant Realm, the exit routes had been treated with incantations to connect back to the Management Bureau headquarters. It is said that before this incantation was created in Thailand, they suffered great headaches managing victims who could pop out anywhere in the country.
“Great job today, everyone. Let’s write the reports tomorrow!”
“Good work. You may now clock out.”
Even after transporting the victims to medical facilities and completing disinfection, it was only 4 PM. Kim Min-seop offered to give him a ride to the subway station on his way home, but Yoo Jiha declined, saying he would take the shuttle bus later.
Since he had the time, he intended to look around the Management Bureau’s auxiliary facilities, which he hadn’t had the chance to explore. The corporate welfare for the mental health of employees who dealt with anomalies daily was top-notch, and Yoo Jiha really wanted to try the massage bed available in the lounge. He could warm his body, take a nap, and then head back on the shuttle bus at clock-out time.
‘If it’s good, I’ll buy one for Mom and Dad later. My salary is on par with a conglomerate employee’s……!’
He was descending from the office, satisfied with his perfect plan. Jeil Heon, who had been walking beside him as if heading toward the official residence as usual, checked that there were no people around and leaned in.
“Jiha, do you have anything special to do until it’s time to go home?”
“Nothing special, I was just going to look around the company.”
“Then do you want to go on a date with this ahjussi?”
“……?!”
In the short sentence, the word ‘date’ struck his ears with particular force. As a startled Yoo Jiha reflexively stepped back, Jeil Heon’s eyes curved like crescent moons.
“You’ve never been on a date until now? Then am I Jiha’s first date partner? Can I be happy about that?”
“W-Why, why should I go on a date with you!”
“Because I plan to treat you to a full course.”
Following that, Jeil Heon listed off a fine-dining restaurant that required reservations far in advance and a mixology bar. Yoo Jiha’s eyes widened. No, how did a man born in the 70s, who only used the internet to check work emails, find out about these hot spots? When did he even make the reservations?
Without dreaming that the answer lay in the secretary’s office of the Jeseong Building, he asked again.
“What are you trying to do by tempting me with food……!”
“Oh, so tempting you with food works? I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I-I’m not falling for it!”
Yoo Jiha’s guard, which had been high and defensive at the word ‘date’, melted away like snow at the following words.
“Actually, things went well, and yesterday I met my younger siblings, my aunt—the one who gave birth to my half-siblings—everyone. ……For the first time in 22 years.”
“Really?!”
“They still called me Hyung, Oppa. I was able to find courage thanks to you. Thank you.”
Though he heard the whisper with his ears, the low voice conveying gratitude wrapped around his heart with a transparent resonance, as if it had been delivered directly into his chest rather than through his earlobes and eardrums.
Looking up at him with a blank stare, Yoo Jiha belatedly waved his hands.
“I-I didn’t do anything. Your siblings must have waited for you a lot.”
“I was the one who deserved to be killed, since I acted like the big brother and then disappeared for 22 years.”
Ending on a joking note, Jeil Heon rubbed his lips.
“Anyway, as a token of my gratitude, I wanted to buy you a wonderful dinner today. It’s a restaurant the fourth one recommended, and they say it’s delicious. The bar is also reservation-only, so it’s quiet and has a great atmosphere……. And, hmm, this isn’t much, but there was something else I wanted to ask Jiha privately.”
“What is it?”
At the following answer, Yoo Jiha’s ears perked up. Ask him privately? How on earth was that ‘not much’……!